Tale as old as Time
by Heartlocket1004
Summary: Stephen Strange was not an enigma to her. Cocky, self-absorbed; Maya had him figured out the day he arrived at Kamar-Taj. But as she forces Stephen to question things he's avoided all his life, the young Master finds him forcing her to ask questions about the only life she has known. The truth is never simple, and when Life itself is threatened, Maya must make a choice. The choice.
1. Strange

*A/N Another Marvel story - this one I've been playing with for a while because I actually really did like Strange's relationship with Christine Palmer. But random note sketches and plot lines became a story so here we go! I do not own Marvel or any of its characters. I only own my OC. Story contains spoilers for the movie from Doctor Strange through Avengers Infinity War.

_Kathmandu, Nepal_

Maya Garthe sat, cross-legged, in the corner of the study.

Her light brown eyes were closed and her entire being radiated calm as she sat in a deep, meditative state, her thoughts drifting and yet intensely focused at the same time. It was a soothing practice that helped clear the mind and one that was highly encouraged at Kamar-Taj - especially as of late. A brow twitched but otherwise the dark-haired woman remained still as she breathed softly, tending to her mental health as she would her physical.

A soft cough from beside her brought her out of her meditation and she lifted her head to see two men standing just outside the doorway to the study. One she recognized immediately: Karl Mordo, another Master of the Mystic Arts and a good friend. The other, she did not and Maya examined the stranger as he stood uncertainly beside Mordo.

Matted hair, a scraggly beard and wounded blue-green eyes suggested that this man was unemployed and desperate; his clothes conversely were expensive despite the ragged and torn state they were in. Clearly the man had chosen them to attempt to blend in and not stand out, but Maya was taught to read through deceptions and she knew the brands this man wore would be treasured by a truly poor man. The utter lack of regard for his clothes would be quite puzzling given his overall appearance… if Maya hadn't been able to see his hands. His scarred, damaged and shaking hands.

Maya sighed internally as she realized what this man must be after; it seemed another lost soul had wandered into the Ancient One's hallowed halls. It was not an ideal time but they offered aid to those who needed and deserved their help - this man would be no exception.

After a murmured conversation with Mordo, the stranger stepped into the room and Maya watched as his eyes fell on Master Hamir where the master was seated quite regally at one of the study desks as he perused a book. Or pretended to anyway. Maya knew the old master well enough to know he'd also been eyeing the stranger furtively, waiting; watching.

The stranger cleared his throat and Maya raised a brow as he began to address Master Hamir awkwardly.

"Thank you for… woah!"

The man jumped a little as two students, Paleo and Martin, stepped forward and silently removed their visitor's jacket. Maya knew her role and she stood up silently in the shadows while the man stared after the students, blinking.

"Okay, that's, uh... a thing…" He muttered mostly to himself before turning back toward Master Hamir although this time he kept an eye on his surroundings too.

"Thank you for- oh."

The stranger blinked again in surprise as he saw Maya approaching him silently.

"Hello." He said awkwardly. Maya just silently handed him a cup before gliding away to the edge of the room.

"Uh, thank you." The stranger called after her; she almost smiled.

It was funny, really, how everyone who first came to their temple (or almost everyone) was so lost and awkwardly polite, not sure how to really react. And then they all learnt in the end, she thought as she glanced at Mordo where he still stood in the doorway, watching the newcomer's struggle with an entertained gleam in his eyes.

Stephen Strange meanwhile was distracted as a bald woman dressed in white robes came up after the pretty, dark-haired woman with light amber eyes left him with his cup.

"Thank you." He said a little distractedly to the bald woman as she poured him warm tea in the empty cup he now held. Between all the people approaching him and his own rather bewilderment as to how to react to his current situation, it was proving to be quite difficult to get down to the reason for his visit.

Clearing his voice, he looked over the woman pouring him tea and back at the wizened Asian man seated in the study chair.

"Uh, thank you, Ancient One," Stephen began as the man rose out of the way… and walked away. "For... seeing me…"

Stephen trailed off, confused as he watched the Asian man exit, before his gaze snapped back to the woman before him as she said warmly in a soft British voice, "You're very welcome."

Stephen couldn't help but stare at the woman who looked not much older than himself despite the shaven head, and then back at Mordo for help. Mordo simply smiled, clearly enjoying Stephen's shock - that smug jerk, Stephen thought - before he bowed slightly.

"The Ancient One." He whispered, barely containing his mirth.

Stephen slowly looked back at the Ancient One as she called, "Thank you, Master Mordo. Thank you, Master Hamir!"

Master Hamir bowed on his way out, the two students who had taken Stephen's outerwear following; but Stephen's gaze landed on the quiet woman with amber eyes as she remained silently in the corner. She was the only one besides the Ancient One and Mordo left, but as she was neither the Ancient One nor the person who'd brought him in, he wondered at her reason to stay. 'Is she the surgeon? The Ancient One's disciple maybe, or the head researcher?'

His puzzled thoughts were broken as the Ancient One addressed him once more, a pleasant smile on her face as she greeted, "Mr. Strange!"

Stephen shook his head, clearing it as he corrected almost automatically, "Doctor, actually."

He absently drank the tea he had been offered while in her corner, Maya raised a curious brow as she watched. The Ancient One however continued rather smoothly, "Well, no. Not anymore, surely. Isn't that why you're here?"

Stephen paused mid-drink and he lowered his tea to stare at the Ancient One as she commented lightly, "You've undergone many procedures. Seven, right?"

"Yeah…" Stephen said slowly while the Ancient One walked away to put down her teapot.

"Good tea." He added lamely.

The Ancient One just smiled as she began to take up her tea things and Stephen glanced at Mordo. The man gave him an encouraging smile and Stephen turned back to the Ancient One.

"Did you heal a man named Pangborn? A paralyzed man." Stephen asked tentatively.

"In a way." The Ancient One replied brusquely as she bent down over her work, not looking at Stephen. It didn't discourage him.

"You helped him to walk again." He insisted and the Ancient One paused enough to look at him.

"Yes." She answered evenly and Stephen asked incredulously, "How did you correct a complete C7-C8 spinal cord injury?"

"Oh, I didn't correct it." The Ancient corrected him quickly and Stephen frowned.

As though sensing his confusion she finally straightened up, her piercing blue eyes meeting his. Now carrying her own cup of tea, she explained in a cool voice, "He couldn't walk; I convinced him that he could."

"You're not suggesting it was psychosomatic?" Stephen asked skeptically.

The Ancient One matched his tone with a clipped tone of her own as she questioned, "When you reattach a severed nerve, is it you who heals it back together or the body?"

"It's the cells." Stephen answered the obvious, confused, and the Ancient One continued, "And the cells are only programmed to put themselves together in very specific ways."

"Right." Stephen nodded in agreement before he was surprised when the Ancient One asked quite briskly, "What if I told you that your own body could be convinced to put itself back together in all sorts of ways?"

Stephen straightened, his interest piqued.

"You're talking about cellular regeneration." He breathed, glancing between the Ancient One, Mordo and the amber-eyed woman at the back of the woman. Mordo had said at the door, before they entered, for Stephen to forget all he'd known before - was this what he had been talking about? Stephen had already been publicly outed for not having stripped his mind of preconceived notions and prejudice when he'd mistaken Master Hamir for the Ancient One. Was this now the next test, to throw away his ideas of restricted medical practice?

"That's... leading-edge medical tech." Stephen trailed after the Ancient One as she again busied herself with handing out tea to Mordo and then to Maya.

"Is that why you're working here, without a governing medical board? I mean... just how experimental is your treatment?"

The Ancient One had by this point reached Maya; the two women's eyes met over the cup of tea the Ancient One offered her. She could read the growing impatience and slight distaste in Maya's eyes but she checked the younger woman with a look. Maya let go of her initial disinterest at the admonishing look - after all, most everyone who arrived at Kamar-Taj were unwittingly disrespectful at first. Strange wasn't even really disrespecting them, he was just living in his preconceived notions of what he thought they did. With that thought in mind, Maya steadied herself and found peace once more.

The Ancient One, satisfied, turned and clasped her hands behind her back as she addressed Strange once more.

"Quite." She finally responded to his question.

Strange hadn't noticed the silent exchange, too excited by the possibilities he was seeing and he asked eagerly, "So, you figured out a way to reprogram nerve cells to self-heal?"

"No, Mr. Strange." The Ancient One finally interrupted Stephen's fantasy as she stepped up to him once more. "I know how to reorient the spirit to better heal the body."

There was a beat of silence before Stephen spoke again.

"The Spirit... to heal the body." He did his best to keep his skepticism from his voice as the Ancient One turned away again, sipping her tea.

It took several tries for Stephen to clear his head and force back his irritation; he'd sacrificed too much already and he was determined that here, in the place where Pangborn had mysteriously been healed, he would find his own cure.

"A... Al... Al... alright." Stephen stammered before he pulled himself together and he followed the Ancient One as she returned to her desk. "How do we do that? Where do we... start?"

He trailed off as she answered by showing him a picture in a book of the map showing the various chakras of the human body. Stephen stared blankly at the picture before he glanced at the Ancient One, wondering if this was some kind of joke. Her smile was wide but shrewd in a way he disliked as she watched his reaction quite carefully behind a mask of innocence.

"Don't like that map?" She asked casually and Stephen answered with forced politeness, "Oh, no. It's-it's really good. It's just… you know, I've seen it before... In gift shops."

He couldn't quite contain his sarcasm at the end. The Ancient One just smiled like a little girl as she flipped the pages to show a new picture and she asked, "And what about this one?"

Stephen glanced down at the picture of a human body that was segmented into various tiny pieces and he groaned internally.

"Acupuncture, great." His voice sounded dead even to himself but the Ancient One just continued to smile as she asked, "Yeah? What about... that one?"

She flipped the pages to open to an image that Stephen was extremely familiar with, having worked with countless of them in his field.

"You're showing me an MRI scan?" He asked in disbelief, one step away from exploding. "I can not believe this."

He turned away, muttering, unaware of the way Maya's gaze had become cool and condescending as she watched him. The Ancient One had but she allowed it this time as she placed down her book before saying loudly and clearly, "Each of those maps was drawn up by someone who could see in part, but not the whole."

Stephen was ignoring her completely by this point, his hands pinching his eyes as he looked to the heavens for patience while he muttered, "I spent my last dollar getting here on a one-way ticket, and you're talking to me about healing through belief?"

He turned back to face her, completely disgusted and more importantly irritated with not just her but himself. For thinking miracles could exist, for coming here and wasting his time, for falling for what could only have been a loony story from a man who had been bitter against Stephen for not taking what had been an impossible case.

The Ancient One examined him quite calmly as she replied, "You're a man who's been looking at the world through a keyhole, and you spent your whole life trying to widen that keyhole: to see more, to know more. And now, on hearing that it can be widened in ways you can't imagine, you reject the possibility?"

"No," Stephen growled angrily as he stalked up to her. "I reject it because I do not believe in fairy tales about chakras, or energy, or the power of belief. There is no such thing as spirit!"

Maya's face went cold though Mordo seemed faintly entertained - he was waiting and willing to put aside Stephen's gross faux-de-pas, to give him a chance, once he saw the truth. Maya was feeling far less generous - but then, she had good reason to be. Especially now.

Stephen didn't notice their reactions, his eyes fixed solely on the Ancient One who was still smiling rather serenely at him. Wanting nothing more than to wipe that smug smile off her face, he said harshly, "We are made of matter, and nothing more. We're just another tiny, momentary speck within an indifferent universe."

"You think too little of yourself." The Ancient One commented and Stephen exploded, "Oh, you think you see through me, do you? Well, you don't. But I see! Through! You!"

He jabbed a finger at her and Maya was quite satisfied when the Ancient One grabbed his hand, twisted it and slammed her hand against Stephen's chest. The man's body sagged strangely, before he fell back. Mordo stepped forward to kindly hold up the man's suddenly deadened body - Maya would have been quite content to let him fall.

A moment later, Stephen jerked upright and he asked wildly, "What did you just do to me?"

"I pushed your astral form out of your physical form." The Ancient One answered calmly but Stephen was still breathing extremely heavily, completely freaked out.

"What's in that tea?" He demanded. "Psilocybin? LSD?"

Maya snorted from behind him, making him whirl on her before he whirled back to the Ancient One as she answered quite calmly and with a light shrug, "It's just tea. With a little honey."

Stephen took a deep, shaky breath and he asked mostly to himself, "What just happened?"

"For a moment," the Ancient One answered his rhetorical question. "You entered the astral dimension."

"What?" Stephen asked, still freaking out, and the Ancient One explained, "A place where the soul exists apart from the body."

"Why are you doing this to me?" Stephen growled, staring her down with wild eyes, still trying to wrap his head around what he had just witnessed, had just experienced. It was impossible, it couldn't be, it-

"To show you just how much you don't know." The Ancient One replied as she stared back into Stephen's eyes. "Open your eye!"

She touched his temple and Maya watched as Stephen's body went a little limp, as though unconscious. Mordo helpfully pulled up a chair for Stephen's body to sit in and they watched as his body jerked strangely in his apparent unconsciousness while his spirit wandered through plane after plane of different dimensions. His heart was beating wildly as his spirit completely freaked out, something Mordo commented on.

"His heart rate's getting dangerously high."

At Mordo's words, Stephen jerked up as the Ancient One released him from her influence for a brief moment. The former physician's eyes were wild as he looked around, panting, and the Ancient One examined him.

"He looks alright to me." She answered, and then Stephen was slumped over again as his spirit was sent careening away once more.

His body continued to twitch and jerk as his spirit flew about, his heart pounding at seemingly one hundred miles an hour. Stephen remained in that state for a brief moment before he came too so quickly he fell out of his chair and landed in a heap at the Ancient One's feet.

"Have you seen that before in a gift shop?" The Ancient One asked quite calmly.

It was funny really to see her in comparison to Strange, who's entire body was trembling where he lay on the ground, fighting to breathe even as his mind went wild with the new knowledge that he had only gotten a glimpse of. Raising himself to his knees, Stephen slowly sat up and his gaze landed on his shaking hands.

Looking fully up, he stared at the Ancient One as she stood before him, and he gasped out two words.

"Teach me!"

Maya's eyes flew to the Ancient One. The Ancient One's eyes remained fixed on Stephen, her expression unreadable, before she said one word.

"No."

* * *

Maya heartily enjoyed throwing Stephen - and his coat - out onto the street. Even his cries and his pleas did nothing to diminish her satisfaction although they did start to annoy her after five hours.

"For the love of Agamotto, does he not know when to give up?" Maya groaned as she stepped into the Seeing Room, her black robes flowing behind her.

The Ancient One had just wrapped up a meeting with the Sanctum Masters but Maya was surprised to see Mordo there with their leader.

"Mordo doesn't seem to think he will." The Ancient One commented casually, but Maya wasn't fooled.

Her eyes narrowed and the younger woman protested, "You're not considering training him?"

"Why should I not?" The Ancient One questioned, suddenly interested as she examined the younger woman.

"For the reasons you cast him out in the first place." Maya replied, sounding incredulous to even be having this conversation. "He is headstrong, arrogant, self-absorbed; even his plea to be taught was the same as him!"

"Master Mordo - your counterargument?" The Ancient One asked calmly, ignoring the last outburst from Maya.

Mordo was equally unruffled as he said, "You both fear he is like Kaecilius, that he will be led astray like Kaecilius was; but where one fell you have one who did not."

He smiled.

"You did not lose me to the darkness. I wanted the power to defeat my enemies and you gave me the power to defeat... my demons. To live within the natural law."

"We never lose our demons, Mordo." The Ancient One corrected, sounding troubled and Maya was certain she hadn't been convinced yet to teach Strange even if she hadn't fully ruled it out. "We only learn to live above them."

Mordo stepped forward as he insisted, "Kaecilius still has the stolen pages. If he deciphers them, he could bring ruin upon us all. There may be dark days ahead."

Mordo looked from the Ancient One to Maya and back again.

"Perhaps Kamar-Taj could use a man like Strange." He wheedled.

Maya shook her head in disagreement. This was ridiculous, Mordo was grasping at desperate straws if he thought-

"Maya."

Maya looked at the Ancient One, and she shook her head as soon as she saw the gleam in the older woman's eyes.

"No. Oh, no." Maya protested, but the Ancient One just smiled.

* * *

Stephen pawed at the door like the lost puppy that he was. The sun had set hours ago, but he barely noticed as he banged weakly against the door repeatedly.

"Don't shut me out." He whimpered pitifully.

This had been his last desperate attempt and - really - it seemed like his best. Here was an actual chance not just a possibility, and he'd been blown off like a speck of dust. Like he was nothing. Stephen sat back against the door, exhausted and miserable.

"I've nowhere else to go." He whispered, saying the admission out loud for the first time.

Suddenly the door jerked open and Stephen toppled inside, surprised at the sudden loss of support for his back. The meaning behind the open door hit him just seconds after the floor did.

"Thank you."


	2. Mystic Arts

Maya flung open the doors to the small bedroom, and Stephen looked around owlishly as his guide threw open the windows.

"Bed. Rest."

Maya spoke shortly, saying the first words since she'd let him into the building - actually, her first words to him at all. She too had a British accent, but Stephen couldn't help but note that she looked and sounded extremely unhappy. She was not looking at him even when she turned back around to face him; instead steadily looking at a point somewhere above Stephen's shoulder.

"Meditate."

Stephen fidgeted uncertainly when another voice spoke up from behind.

"If you can, that is."

Stephen looked over to see a much friendlier Mordo standing in the doorway, looking as cheerful as Maya looked irate.

"The Ancient One will send for you." Mordo added, his eyes flickering over to Maya as he spoke to Stephen.

Mordo appeared highly entertained as he examined Maya, who was now glowering at him with such intensity that Stephen wondered that the dark-skinned man didn't burn under it.

Maya huffed at the clear amusement on her friend's face and she stalked out without another word to either man.

"Um, thank you!" Stephen called after her awkwardly.

Maya glared briefly at him before she left, her black robes and curiously yellow sash snapping behind her, and Mordo chuckled. Stephen didn't know whether it would be appropriate to make a joke or not, before he decided that he'd best prevent any further mishaps for the day by staying silent. Mordo seemed to sense this because his smile widened and he made a joke first.

"Maya seems quite taken with you already."

Stephen started and stared. Mordo laughed.

"Do not worry, Strange - she will come around. It is mostly her mother she is cross at." He reassured. Stephen blinked.

"Her… mother?" He asked and Mordo explained, "The Ancient One."

"Oh… wait, _what?!_" Stephen yelped, his eyes bulging in shock for the millionth time that day. "But, but… how… they're related?"

He pictured the Ancient One with her deathly pale skin, blue eyes, pointed nose, thin lips and he'd guess by her eyebrows that she was naturally blonde if she weren't bald. Maya on the other hand had golden skin, clearly a product of her mixed-looking heritage, a rounded nose, black wavy hair and light brown eyes that looked amber when the light struck them. The only shared feature they had was possibly the high cheek bones but that seemed a bit of a stretch. Mordo laughed.

"They are not related, Strange." He explained. "Maya is adopted, but she is the only one at Kamar-Taj who has been here since she was a baby and whom the Ancient One herself raised. Most others joined later in life; it is what gives her the privilege to call the Ancient One 'mother'."

"Huh."

Stephen was still having difficult wrapping his head around his bit of news when Mordo handed him a slip of paper with the word 'shamballa' written in elegant script. Stephen glanced down at it in confusion.

"Uh, what's this?" Stephen asked as Mordo started to leave. "My mantra?"

The other man gave him an odd look.

"The Wi-Fi password." Mordo answered, before raising a brow. "We're not savages."

With that, he left, closing the doors behind him and leaving Stephen to contemplate his first night at Kamar-Taj.

* * *

Stephen's training began immediately.

"The language of the mystic arts is as old as civilization."

Stephen listened intently and silently where he sat across from the Ancient One early the next morning. They were in her study once more, but this time it was he dressed in light, grey-toned robes while she was dressed in a dark maroons and yellow-brown tones as she sat with her legs crossed before him.

"The sorcerers of antiquity called the use of this language 'spells'. But if that word offends your modern sensibilities, you can call it a 'program'."

Stephen fought back the brief annoyance at her words; he had had a feeling his initial dismissal of the teachings at Kamar-Taj would not be forgotten quickly and it seemed he was right.

"The source code that shapes reality." The Ancient One continued before she lifted her hands.

"We harness energy," a bright orange light appeared between her hands as she drew them perpendicular to her body, and Stephen watched in awe as she continued while spinning her hands in a perfect circle.

"Drawn from other dimensions of the multiverse-"

The orange light followed her hand to crate two perfectly round concentric circles around the first straight line she had drawn, with additional markings appearing inside the smaller circle.

"To cast spells-"

The markings within expanded to reveal pyramidal or triangular shapes intertwined in an almost star-like pattern within the circle. At the same time, the Ancient One abruptly pulled her arms apart with her forearms raised straight and her palms facing her body. A square appeared around the outermost circle and the first line down the middle of the spell she had cast disappeared as she went on.

"To conjure shields-"

The Ancient One snapped her fingers, and what looked like a copy of her initial design clicked into view at a 90 degree angle from the first design. She twirled her hands in a circle before her body once more, creating further intricate designs all within the spell she was showing Stephen as she finished speaking.

"And weapons to make... magic."

She curled and then abruptly uncurled her fingers as she held them out before her, and Stephen watched in awe as the spell before him pulsed before it extended. The different layers of the design continued to pulse as if alive as they lifted away, creating a three-dimensional image of glowing orange light before him.

The Ancient One lowered her hands and the spell disappeared, leaving Stephen stunned for a moment as he stared, breathless, at where the spell had appeared and then disappeared before his eyes. However, reality caught up to him a few heartbeats later, and Stephen frowned.

"But…" He began morosely, looking down at his permanently shaking hands. "Even if my fingers could do that, my hands would just be waving in the air. I mean, how do I get from here to there?"

He gestured from his lacking self to her, his eyes beseeching as they looked at her once more. The Ancient One raised her brows before she turned the question back at him.

"How did you get to reattach severed nerves, and put a human spine back together bone by bone?"

"Study and practice." Stephen answered slowly. "Years of it."

The Ancient One smiled and Stephen lowered his head thoughtfully. The Ancient One then turned her head slightly, looking to the side of the room where another figure had been watching in silence from the corner of the study.

"Maya." The Ancient One called.

Stephen looked up and over, surprised by the Ancient One's call, while Maya shot them an incredulous look from where she had been sitting in the corner since the sunrise at her mother's request.

"No." She protested shortly. She'd had an unhappy feeling on what her sitting in on Stephen's introduction lesson would mean and she was not pleased to find her prediction was coming true. "I'm not teaching this _bevakupha."_

Her vehemence caused the Ancient One to raise an eyebrow while Stephen frowned.

"What does be-bek-bev- er that mean?" He asked, sensing it wasn't a pleasant term although he had no idea what language it was let alone what it meant.

The Ancient One was giving Maya a reproachful look that made her groan, but she said grudgingly, "Never you mind."

"Maya will now show you to the courtyard where you will begin your first training." The Ancient One told Stephen serenely. He wondered briefly if she was all right in the head giving him to an instructor who clearly loathed him although he wasn't quite sure what he'd done wrong. The Ancient One appeared to have forgiven his initial disrespectful attitude and Mordo had apparently never been offended to start with. Was Maya perhaps more difficult? Somehow he had the sense that it ran deeper than that… but what it was he had no idea.

"You're sure that's… wise?" Stephen asked the Ancient One delicately as Maya walked up. She scoffed as she came up beside him.

"You will not question the Ancient One's decisions." Maya said severely, her tone leaving no room for arguments. Though Stephen was still tempted to point out to her that she didn't seem to want to follow her own advice as she motioned unhappily for him to follow her. "Lesson One. She is much wiser than you could ever hope to be, Strange."

"It's Stephen." Stephen muttered although he followed Maya out as she left the study, trailing behind the woman who was dressed in the same dark maroon robes as the Ancient One.

"Good luck, Stephen." The Ancient One called quite cheerfully after him, and he felt a sudden sense of terrible foreboding.

"So, what does be-bek-thing mean?" Stephen asked in a low voice as he followed Maya down a series of corridors he hoped he would later remember, they all looked alarmingly identical.

She glanced at him from out of the corner of her eye before she looked away again as she muttered, "... It means newcomer."

"Right." Stephen said skeptically as they reached a wide, open courtyard.

The stoned pavement was smooth and well-cared for while the pillars holding up the archways and covered walkways all around were intricately carved. Planted all around the courtyard in a hexagonal shape were trees whose leaves were just starting to come to life as another bitter winter finally showed signs of ending, and Stephen briefly admired one as they passed in silence. There were a few people milling about, some students practicing in different areas of the courtyard while older students and masters stood in small groups, talking,

"Okay, so what spell are we working on today?" Stephen asked with forced lightness as Maya led him to an empty corner at the far back.

She shot him a faintly amused and condescending look as she stopped to turn to him so abruptly that Stephen was forced to pause mid-step in a hasty attempt not to crash into her. He had no doubt she'd intended to unhinge his balance, and he scowled a little at the way her smile widened.

"You are not even at the stage to even try to use a sling ring." Maya informed Stephen coolly before she tapped his shoulder, elbow, and knee joints as though testing them. "You are stiff, unagile and your body would break under the physical exertion even if your mind survived the ordeal the first time."

"Now wait just a minute." Stephen protested, annoyed at her tone and bristling at the way she had casually touched him even if it had been almost clinical she was so detached. "I was in an accident that I've spent months barely recovering from, but I always worked out before and it will come back-"

"I would have thought that Master Mordo told you to forget everything you thought you knew before you entered Kamar-Taj." Maya mused casually, cutting him off completely as she observed him. "Given that I trust him more than I do you, I'll just take this to mean that you are either usually forgetful or thought that the comment was beneath you, shall I?"

Stephen glared but he kept his mouth shut this time; she wasn't going to listen to him, he realized, at least until he proved himself to her in some way. Maya reminded him of a snarkier and less willing version of the Ancient One: she seemed intent on testing him before she would approve of him. The only trouble was, like with the Ancient One, he had no idea what she was testing him for and so he had no idea how he was to pass whatever examination she was holding him to.

At least she seemed to approve of his silence as she nodded.

"Very good - now, let us begin at the basics. Do exactly as I do and don't talk back unless you have a very valid question."

Stephen's eyes narrowed; but after half an hour he grudgingly had to give it to Maya. She had been right - his body could not follow what she did as she extended her hands and twisted them at angles his elbows didn't seem capable of doing; she lifted her legs in absurdly straight perpendicular lines as she kicked her foot up quickly before stilling in the air and lowering it slowly and gracefully in a way that made his own calf muscles burn with the strain. There was no hope for him to copy her roundhouse kicks or the kicks she shot up off both legs to do in mid air.

By the end of four hours, his sweat was soaking right through his grey tunic and pants, and his muscles ached so much he wasn't even capable of copying Maya as she stood in a mid- lunge with her arms extended as she turned them around her body in the simplest move he had been shown yet. In hindsight, he realized that he should have known just how physical the Mystic Arts had to be even if they had looked like fancy handwork this morning. Maya's body was lithe and thin but strong, as were most everyone's here at the temple. Others like Mordo with his bulging muscles were more obviously powerful in their physique, and not one person was unfit.

Maya finally straightened from the last exercise and she observed his exhausted expression as Stephen pulled himself upright as well with a grimace he couldn't contain.

"We are done for this morning." Maya announced, watching with faint amusement at the way Stephen almost sagged in relief. "We will continue again tomorrow - for the rest of the afternoon, Ama and Master Mordo will begin your training in the theoretical elements to the Mystic Arts."

"Ama?" Stephen asked, feeling a little dazed from the sheer physical exhaustion. Maya's lips twitched like she was about to smile.

"The Ancient One." She clarified and then she nodded to where the other students were starting to gather and leave in the same direction. "Now go with your fellow students. Unless you wish to miss lunch."

Stephen nodded and gave a muttered thanks for his training. Maya ignored it as she walked off and he had the distinct feeling that while he had not failed to meet whatever expectation she had had of his first training session, she had started out with an extremely low bar and did not expect him to really last too long. That, or she was hoping he wouldn't.

And Stephen swore to himself as he hobbled down to join the other students at lunch, that he would master everything he could learn of the Mystic Arts. He would prove Maya wrong if it was the last thing he ever did.

* * *

"Well?" Mordo asked as Maya stalked into the study where the Masters usually dined. "What do you think of him?"

"I think he's in way over his head." Maya muttered as she poked at her food, and Mordo chuckled.

"No, that's what you want him to be." Mordo corrected and Maya demanded, "Why are you defending him? Why are you so sure he won't turn on us once he has learnt the Mystic Arts?"

"Because he is not the man you think he is." Mordo replied calmly. "I followed him closely before revealing myself to him, Maya. I am not a careless person as I am sure you would remember if you weren't so cross. And I saw him helping a wounded dog that no-one else would go near for fear of being bitten."

"So he has a heart." Maya rolled her eyes. "He is still a doctor, he swore to save lives so of course he would-"

"And that is exactly why he is different from Kaecilius." Mordo insisted, cutting her off.

Maya realized what she had said and she pursed her lips. Mordo continued, "He is a man who, despite what you may think, understands the importance and value of life. He would not have discriminated on saving a man's life if that man had been a good samaritan or a thieving criminal. And I can already see you are planning to make his training unbearable and make him want to give up, simply because you cannot bear to see another Kaecilius being born."

"And is that so wrong?" Maya demanded as she turned to face her friend, ignoring the food on her plate.

"Is it wrong to not want to teach another man who is obviously going to become another problem we will have to deal with - a serious problem? You are wrong, Strange is arrogant enough that he will believe himself above the Arts, he will think he can abuse them for his idea of a greater good. You know how powerful the Mystic Arts are, in the wrong hands they are disastrous."

Maya's amber eyes were fixed on Mordo's dark one, her gaze becoming haunted as she spoke.

"Ama took a chance with Kaecilius, she saw his incurable pain and his arrogance but she chose to give him the opportunity to redeem himself. He did not, and I will not see her hurt because of another exactly like him."

"I think it is you, you are afraid will become hurt." Mordo answered quietly, but his voice was firm as he observed the youngest Master at the temple. Youngest but one of the oldest in terms of experience.

Maya's eyes flickered with anger but Mordo continued before she could bite back.

"Your own disappointment in Kaecilius is clouding your vision. Don't you see? This is the chance to get it right. The Ancient One did not lead Kaecilius down the wrong path, he betrayed the natural law of his own free will despite your and the Ancient One's attempts to lead him away from the darkness. The way you both led _me_ away from the same darkness."

Maya lowered her gaze, playing with the food on her plate once more. Mordo nudged her gently.

"Give him a chance." Mordo suggested. Maya exhaled heavily and she shook her head.

"Fine." She said wearily. "If he is able to show that he does indeed have these positive qualities you seem to believe he possesses, then, and only then, will I give him a chance."

"If you take the time to look at him without prejudice," Mordo replied confidently. "Then I am certain you will see the truth that I speak."

Maya scoffed as she turned back to her food. She highly doubted Mordo was right but she was a woman of her word: one chance would she give Strange. One chance but it would be a fair one. And then they would see who was right.


	3. Lessons

"Again."

Stephen grit his teeth and he lowered himself again into the half-squat position while extending one of his permanently trembling hands before him as he drew the other back near his waist. Letting out a deep breath, he concentrated… and nothing.

"Again."

Stephen repeated the action to no avail.

"Ag-"

"Look." Stephen interrupted irritably as he straightened up. "I get it - you don't want to teach me. But I _am_ trying, the least you could do is try resp-"

"You think I'm showing you special treatment?" Maya asked, raising a brow. "How cocky of you to think you are being treated differently from any other new recruit."

"_How_ is this not being treated differently?" Stephen demanded. Maya crossed her arms.

"Do you think Pangborn learnt to walk again because I babysat him and held his hand?" Maya queried. "The Mystic Arts takes patience and great willpower to learn. I do not do any more than the minimum basics with _any_ student who has arrived here either because they want to learn a few parlour tricks or out of sheer desperation to fix the hand life has 'unfairly' dealt to them."

Stephen blinked.

"You thought you were the only one to come here, crying his sad story? I've seen plenty come and go, but _very_ few stay enough to learn as Pangborn did. As Mordo did. I am hard on you, _doctor_ Strange," Stephen absolutely started at the sarcastic use of his title, "because, amongst other things, I am waiting to see if you will break and give up as countless before you have."

"I won't give up." Stephen replied. Maya simply raised a brow.

"They all say that in the first week." She informed him. "We'll see if you're still here in three. Now - again."

Stephen bent his legs, this time refraining from grimacing either from exhaustion or from irritation. For the first time he pondered the possibility that her rather hardcore approach at drills and exercises wasn't related to her apparent dislike of him as a person. To be fair, he had noticed that she was strict but she had not been cruel - yet. But Stephen had never really thought about how many people must have failed to complete what he was just starting to attempt. It had never crossed his mind to give up once he'd realized just what the Mystic Arts offered but he now realized that to someone like Maya, who had lived her entire life at Kamar-Taj, his determination could easily appear superficial. She had no idea what he was really like, just as he didn't really know her. Who knew, maybe she was really a sweet woman who liked My Little Pony, or something?

'_Okay, maybe not that far._' He thought as he failed yet again to produce even a spark.

Although he did gauge that this didn't mean he was a failure from the way Maya simply told him to repeat the movement. He had no doubt she would have said something by now if he was learning slower than the average person for, while she didn't seem cruel, Maya definitely didn't like him for reasons yet unclear to him. Which was fine by him as long as she taught him in the end - and he had no doubt she would keep her word and do that if he just proved he was here to stay and learn.

'_I'll just have to show her._'

* * *

Maya grinned as she walked down the corridors of the temple after an interesting conversation with Wong, the new Guardian of the Library.

It had been two months since Stephen's arrival, two months in which he had shown enormous progress in his theoretical knowledge even if his practical application had yet to be successful. Two months in which he'd worked hard but had shown neither proof that he was a good man like Mordo claimed or a weak one in the face of power like Maya believed.

With neither of their opinions as yet proven right, Maya was still grudgingly giving Stephen a fair chance to show his true colours, whatever they may be. Their lessons had soon moved on from the drills and exercises (which, to Maya's disgruntled acknowledgement he completed without a word of protest after the first and only one) and onto spellwork and dueling practice (sans magic for the moment given that Stephen had yet to produce anything more than sparks).

Her Ama seemed to be inclined toward Mordo's belief the longer Stephen remained with them, which served to set Maya further on edge. Her fear that they were just setting themselves up for heartache and danger never dimmed although she didn't take it out on Stephen as she had that first lesson together. She instead took it out on the study in the Mirror Dimension where she practiced when meditation didn't always work - and on amusing stories such as the one Wong had provided.

It appeared Stephen had attempted his odd sense of humour (that had so far failed with Maya - at least, to his knowledge and she would kill before she admitted she had bit back a smile more than once) with the librarian who had found him genuinely less than amusing. Although the fact that Stephen had managed to clear all the foundational theory books in a record time that they had not seen since… well, ever was an impressive feat, Wong was as wary as Maya of the bright but formerly conceited physician the Ancient One had accepted into their midst. This was furthered when Stephen had shown a curiosity in the book of Cagliostro but Wong had recounted to Maya how his story about Kaecilius's actions and Wong's promise to punish anyone who dared to repeat Kaecilius's transgressions had been met by a spooked reaction from Stephen. It seemed the former surgeon was more innocent than she'd attributed him to be - she had expected him to rather take offense.

Either way, it was still an amusing story and she was still laughing to herself at Wong's description of Stephen's face as she walked toward the training courtyard where Stephen was probably training now.

Speaking of his training… despite Stephen's leaps and bounds in the theoretical knowledge, he had shown great struggles in the practical applications. He had yet to conjure up more than sparks of energy despite his body having grown much more flexible and agile since he had begun training with her. The reports from Mordo and other Masters who led Stephen and the rest of the students in training had stated the same: that, despite clear frustrations, Stephen had yet to conjure up even a gateway with the sling ring.

Maya knew what the problem was. Stephen's trauma regarding his lost reputation and the way he had lost everything he had worked so hard to achieve throughout his life in the blink of an eye, was something that plagued him whenever he saw his permanently shaking hands. That they continued to shake was a reminder of his failures, something he couldn't forgive. And given that the Mystic Arts relied on the movements of the hand as a channel for energy, Stephen had no escape from the constant reminders. It disrupted his concentration and held back his progress.

She still remembered the conversation - if it could be called that - they had had in his last training with her the day before.

* * *

"Stop." Maya sighed at last.

Stephen lowered his arms, frustration written all over his face as he glared at his trembling hands.

"Stephen."

Stephen looked up, startled at the use - however reluctant it had been on Maya's part - of his first name. Maya shook her head at him as she admonished, "It is not your hands."

"How is it not my hands?" Stephen demanded, irritation flaring again. He had grown increasingly frustrated over the past two months as his mind soaked in the new knowledge around him but his body just would not listen, insisted on continuing to betray him. "Look at them, they, they-"

"Think of it this way," Maya interrupted, tired of the rants he always fell into whenever his hands were brought up. "When a sailor sets out at sea, does he try to control the water or the wind when he charts his course?"

"... No." Stephen replied grouchily. Maya gave him a pointed look.

"So why do you try to do exactly that?" She questioned. "You continue not to accept that you cannot _will_ the Mystic Arts to do your bidding yet you accept the 'logical' fact that a sailor who yells and attempts to beat the sea into submission is doomed to fail."

Stephen remained silent and Maya said heavily, "The Mystic Arts are like forces of nature that encompass all of reality. Like the forces of nature, they cannot be forced to match our whims. We can only change the direction of our sails, bend ourselves to the current and direct our course to our desired destination. That is how we harness the energy; that is the only way we can, for lack of a better word, control it."

* * *

Stephen hadn't said anything after that, even when she wrapped up their lesson. She knew he wasn't convinced, that in his head he still cursed his hands for his failure to master even the simplest of spells.

It was all in his mind, however. Stephen was still too used to a world where the limits of the physical body dictated what could or could not be accomplished - fueled again by the way his career had been cut mercilessly short after his accident left his hands permanently unable to steadily hold a scalpel let alone place it to a brain.

But the state of one's physical body was not important for the actual spellwork beyond the simplest and basest requirements. Physicality was important for anyone who wished to learn the Mystic Arts to endure the hours of training, which was why she had emphasized it so heavily in his first training (in addition to intending to knock his ego down a peg or two).

And then there was the danger. With power came dangerous adversaries, and danger was not far on the horizon with Kaecilius still loose somewhere outside of their little sanctuary. That said, with the progress Stephen was making, he would be in no position to fight an inflatable duck let alone Kaecilius unless he learnt to calm his mind and his emotions. And, despite herself, this worried Maya. No matter how much she disliked Stephen's inherent arrogance, she had no wish to see him killed. He was now her student, for better or for worse (and until she kicked him out, if or when it happened), and she felt responsible to protect him.

It was ironic that it was as this thought crossed her mind that she reached the training courtyard, only to find Mordo and the Ancient One the only ones left standing in the open area. Maya frowned.

'_Where is everyone?_' She wondered. Surely training had not ended already - she would have thought that at least Stephen would be doing some final exercises to try stimulate his powers and encourage him to let go of his irrational fears, fears that his so-called logic unwittingly encouraged.

It was only when she saw the way Mordo seemed to anxiously bounce on his feet as he and the Ancient One stared intently into thin air while the youthful elder absently turned a fan over and over in her hands behind her back, that Maya realized what was going on. She paled.

"You didn't." She gasped as she came up beside the other two, addressing her words to her mother.

Mordos's expression was worried as he glanced at her while the Ancient One didn't even look away from where she was watching the air expectantly. Maya groaned.

"By Agamotto, I hope you're right about him, Ama." She muttered as she also waited.

Two seconds passed before Maya asked tensely, "How long has it been?"

"One minute." Mordo replied equally tersely. "Since I found her waiting."

So Stephen had been gone over a minute; he'd have less than one and a half to get back somewhat alive. Maya tensed and the Ancient One asked calmly, "Are you concerned about him, Maya?"

"He is my student." Maya replied curtly but unable to keep the concern from her voice. "He may be an asshole with an over-inflated ego but that doesn't mean I wish him death."

"He will not die." The Ancient One replied but there was now a hint of urgency in her tone as Stephen continued to not appear. "Any second now… any second..."

Five more seconds passed and Maya broke in, "Ama-"

Her mother's grip tightened on the fan and Maya was about to conjure up a gateway to the top of Mount bloody Everest where her mother had trapped Stephen, when suddenly the air before them sparked. Maya watched stoically, hiding her relief, as an orange circle of sparks appeared in the air before them and a freezing cold wind abruptly blew their way.

Stephen tumbled through the gateway almost immediately after it fully materialized. He was exceedingly pale, covered in icicles with a matching snow-tipped shaggy beard, and there was a worrying tinge of blue to his extremities from his exposure to the freezing temperatures atop the mighty Himalayan mountain in only his gray training robes. But he was alive as he lay shivering on the ground before them.

Mordo relaxed visibly in relief and the Ancient One smiled, before she lifted her head and gave Maya a knowing look. Her daughter pursed her lips and turned on her heel.

"He's still an asshole." Maya muttered as she walked away to fetch thick blankets and a hot pot of tea.

* * *

As the Ancient One had hoped, his brief trip atop Mt. Everest was the turning point for Stephen's training.

After shivering his way to recovery under the layers of blankets and cups of hot tea that Maya all but forced on him, Stephen had retired for the night. He arrived for training the next morning with a clearer head and confident determination; two days later, he was cleanly shaven and his hair trimmed and styled neatly back for the first time since probably his car accident almost a year ago. It was impressive not the least because his goatee was actually straight and even, not to mention closely cropped, but because of what the trust in his own hands to cut at hair near his face represented.

Maya didn't say anything but she caught the Ancient One's eye as she began her training with Stephen once more. _His healing has begun._

And what healing it turned out to be. Maya was shocked by how quickly Stephen improved over the months following his trip to Everest, his knowledge soon catching up to not just the most advanced of all the students at Kamar-Taj but even the Masters. Even herself. His skills still needed heavy work but even there his progress was astounding, as Maya found herself telling the Ancient One in surprise more than once.

His spars with her had shifted from sessions of entertainment on her end to actual enjoyable exercise. Yes, she still kicked his ass every time but he resisted a little bit longer each time and his Eldritch whips were forming well under her tutelage.

It was the first spell that he mastered fairly quickly, to his delight and Maya's grudging approval.

* * *

"Now, summon it like this."

Maya showed Stephen the motions to pull an Eldritch wand before her body. Stephen copied her movements, drawing a long and stiff line of yellow energy before him. Maya nodded in approval.

"Now, let it go on the top."

She released the tip of the wand so that she was now holding the line of yellow energy in just her right hand. She expected the energy to peter out when he let go, and Maya was preparing to repeat her actions for him as Stephen paused with his brows furrowed just slightly.

But he surprised her as, with a flourish that was probably not necessary but which likely had helped him to maintain his control, Stephen released his Eldritch wand and held it before his face.

"Like this?" He asked, briefly enjoying the way Maya briefly ogled at him. It was only to be the beginning of many similar instances as Maya tried to learn to mask her reactions but she wasn't very good at hiding her honest opinions. And even months later, Stephen would enjoy the way she would often gape - if only briefly - at his impressive progress.

For now, he was elated by the reaction, the first positive one he had received from Maya since his training had begun. It had Stephen grinning from ear to ear as Maya recovered and showed him how to crack the wand in his hand.

"Now, use it like this."

She moved her hand in a very specific movement, causing the tip of the energy stick to extend and crack like a whip. With the right movement Maya was soon easily throwing the whip about, curling it and using it to wrap around the nearby tree branch though she was careful not to break it.

Getting the Eldritch spell into a whip form, Stephen mastered with impressive speed although learning to use the Eldritch whip effectively turned out to be a little more of a challenge. Stephen wasn't used to wielding anything besides a scalpel and despite his sparring with Maya, this was a different type of dueling that his body wasn't used to.

He kept wiggling the whip around rather than having it crack sharply, let alone curl around the tree branch effectively. But under Maya's close tutelage and after working on it for nearly an hour, he soon had the action mastered. By the time they reached the end of their lesson, he was whipping the length of yellow energy back and forth quite comfortably. Maya shook her head.

"I'll give it to you, Strange." She told him in her usual stern, no-nonsense voice although her lips were twitching. "You're not as hopeless as I thought."

Stephen grinned, knowing the deeper compliment that lay behind Maya's far from sweet words. And somehow, it made it more worth it, knowing how difficult it was to elicit praise from the strict master. It was therefore a much more satisfied Stephen who went to bed that day, feeling stronger and more like himself than he had in months.

Unfortunately, with his improvements returned the old arrogance that had been dimmed since his first day at the temple. As the months passed and the season changed, Maya found herself arguing with her latest pupil far more than even she had expected, to both her and Stephen's growing frustrations.

"That is not how it's done, Strange." She snapped, glaring at the tall man who was now usually dressed in dark blue robes. He'd advanced through the classes faster than anyone before, even herself - something that rekindled the worry inside her which had never really disappeared.

"For the millionth time, it's _Stephen_." Stephen shot back. "And why not? What difference does it make if I turn my hand left and then right, instead of right and then left? It makes the movement faster, the spell stronger-"

"It's a question of discipline and patience. Lessons that you seem to have never studied let alone applied - and that includes the lesson on respect." Maya said irritably. "For once, would you just do as you're told, _bevakupha?_"

Stephen frowned.

"What does that mean?" He demanded. "And don't say 'newcomer', you're really a horrible liar, it's quite entertaining."

"Does it matter?" Maya snapped to shut him up. "Now move!"

She punctuated her remark with a kick Stephen wasn't fast enough to avoid. And he swore at her internally for the duration of their sparring training, calling her every bad word he could think of as she beat him to a student pulp just to show him how far he still had to go before his questions would be taken seriously.


	4. Questions

Stephen's attempts to get answers from Mordo didn't go any better.

He was readying to spar with Mordo when he spotted the Ancient One watching the training of the advanced students, wandering between the sparring pairs as she examined each of them intently.

"So, just how ancient is she?" Stephen asked as he strapped on his gloves, and he nodded at the Ancient One to indicate of whom he spoke.

Mordo looked up from where he was fitting on some strange-looking boots and he glanced at the Ancient One briefly before he approached Stephen.

"No one knows the age of the Sorcerer Supreme." Mordo replied quietly. "Not even her adopted daughter. Only that she is Celtic and never talks about her past."

"You follow her even though you don't know?" Stephen asked, surprised and skeptical as he watched Mordo circle him. The master smiled.

"I know that she's steadfast, but unpredictable." Mordo answered calmly. "Merciless, yet kind. She made me what I am."

Mordo suddenly dropped into a crouch, his one arm extended and his other curled near his chest in a familiar battle stance. Stephen reacted instinctively now, months of training showing their impact as he held a similar position while facing Mordo warily. Mordo smiled in approval.

"Trust your teacher." Mordo finished his lecture. "And don't lose your way."

He began to circle again, and Stephen mirrored the man's movements even as he quipped, "Like Kaecilius?"

"That's right." Mordo answered without missing a beat. Stephen's eyes narrowed.

As expected, Mordo lunged forward, his leg swinging in a high roundhouse kick. Stephen dodged before he launched forward, hitting Mordo in the stomach and then pulling him into a tackle even as he let loose his surprise.

"You knew him?" Stephen asked incredulously, shocked at this bit of information. All he'd known was that the man, who had learnt of the Mystic Arts from somewhere that Stephen now realized was Kamar-Taj itself, had broken in and stolen pages from the Book of Cagliostro after killing the former librarian pre-Wong. That he had been a student here, learnt under the Ancient One and possibly even known Maya…

Stephen grunted as Mordo slipped out of his hold and suddenly twisted Stephen around. Stephen grimaced as he found himself in a chokehold, his head locked in Mordo's grasp, while the man explained lowly, "When he first came to us, he'd lost everyone he ever loved. I myself was not yet a student here but I am told he was a grieving and broken man, searching for answers in the Mystic Arts. A brilliant student, but he was proud, headstrong. Questioned the Ancient One, rejected our teaching."

Stephen finally broke free, hitting Mordo in the stomach with his elbow. Mordo grunted as he let go to massage his stomach while Stephen massaged his neck and turned back to face Mordo. The master, knowing what Stephen wanted to know, finished his story.

"He left Kamar-Taj. His disciples followed him like sheep, seduced by false doctrine."

"He stole the forbidden ritual, right?" Stephen checked.

"Yes." Mordo confirmed and Stephen couldn't help himself from asking, "What did it do?"

Mordo turned away.

"No more questions." His tone left no room for argument and Stephen sighed as he faced yet another blocked road. But his interest was quickly piqued again when Mordo grabbed a staff of some kind and faced him once more.

"What's that?" Stephen asked curiously and Mordo held up the staff to Stephen's face.

"That's a question." He teased. Stephen chuckled and Mordo smiled as he held up the staff so it was perpendicular to them while he explained.

"This is a relic. Some magic is too powerful to sustain, so we imbue objects with it. Allowing them to take the strain we can not. This is the Staff of the Living Tribunal."

Mordo took the staff in both hands and suddenly he jerked his hands apart. Instead of breaking, the staff extended, revealing chains that held the staff together like a whip while familiar orange energy sparked. Mordo cracked the whiplike staff at Stephen's feet, making him flinch back automatically, before he twisted his grip just slightly on the staff and it retracted into its sealed state.

"There are many relics." Mordo continued his explanation while Stephen stared at the staff in awe. "The Wand of Watoomb. The Bolting Boots of Voltor."

He tapped his boots together, and orange energy sparked at the contact. Stephen raised a brow.

"They just roll of the tongue, don't they?" He said dryly. "What's Maya's?"

"She has been chosen by the Sash of the Dragonskins." Mordo answered, and Stephen cocked his head.

"'Chosen'?" He repeated and Mordo explained, "The relic decides, not us. Yours will decide in time."

Stephen pouted, clearly having wanted a relic. Mordo's smile widened but he kept his voice stern as he continued their lesson.

"For now, conjure a weapon."

Stephen closed his eyes before he leant back in the same half-lunge position that Maya had shown him in his first ever training session at Kamar-Taj. Mordo's smile was indulgent as he watched Stephen focus as he began to conjure up a Eldritch magic weapon.

Even before the Eldritch whip had fully formed, Mordo lunged. Stephen backed away quickly as he tried to fend off Mordo's aggressive attacks, his whip barely holding against the staff that Mordo wielded.

"Fight!" Mordo yelled, forcing Stephen back even further and Stephen staggered under the sheer brutality of the attack. "Fight like your life depended on it!"

Stephen barely managed to block another attack before Mordo turned away only to suddenly leap into the air. His boots gave him the ability to jump about in the air until he was behind Stephen and he landed a vicious punch right across Stephen's cheek.

Stephen stumbled, falling to the ground in a heap, completely defeated. He grimaced as he pulled himself up into a half-seated position, staring up at Mordo in shock. The master had no trace of amusement on his face now and his face was stern as he looked down at Stephen.

"Because one day, it may." Mordo said in a grim voice that made Stephen blink as he wondered what could possibly be going on through Mordo's mind.

* * *

That night, Stephen sat in contemplation of his arguments with Maya and his training with Mordo.

They both annoyed him for differing reasons.

Mordo was easily the nicer of the two but he was so rigid, so… _stiff_ despite how flexible his physical bodies were. As much as Stephen genuinely liked the other man, even considered him a potential friend, it was extremely annoying when Mordo would shoot him down almost instantly the second he tried to take one tiny step further than the Ancient One wanted. The notion of bending the rules to Mordo was apparently like asking someone to chop off their arm. And it was infuriatingly frustrating to Stephen how Mordo, Wong, Maya (really, all the masters) just followed the Ancient One like the sheep Mordo had accused Kaecilius's followers of being.

Then there was Maya. Definitely not as friendly as Mordo with her cutting comments, with his own differences aside, she wasn't a terrible teacher (which coming from him was the highest compliment for another mortal being). She had definitely not liked him or open to his learning the Mystic Arts, but she had shown brief moments over the last months that showed she did, whether grudgingly or not, care about him. The first time was that time two months into his stay when she'd taken care of him after he returned, half-frozen, from the top of Everest. She hadn't said much but she sat with him as he shook like a leaf while trying to warm himself up again. Then, a month later, she'd kicked him too hard in the face and he'd seen the flash of alarm in her eyes when she saw his eye starting to bruise almost instantly. The alarm and the remorse.

And that was another thing - she was harsh but fair. She pushed him but she was never cruel and she was not unkind, even when he wanted to kill her for how much pain she put him through. Not to mention that, while she did not condone his questioning their teachings and despised it when he broke their rules, she was the only master who (to what he suspected was both of their surprise) engaged with him in discussions of the Mystic Arts. She refused to go into topics he had yet to learn, but she alone showed flexibility in expanding on anything he found confusing from things he had started to learn and she would debate with him in great detail and length on the many facets of the Mystic Arts… until he asked a too probing question.

Then, Maya would shut down and cut him off. He still remembered the first time it had really happened.

* * *

"So, what you're saying is, there are even books that are relics?" Stephen questioned. Where before his tone would have been coloured with disbelief, now there was only curiosity and a thirst for knowledge.

Maya's lip curled into the faintest hint of a smile at his question, although nothing else suggested her amusement. Her hands were tucked into the wide sleeves of her navy robes while she reclined back in her chair, the yellow sash she always wore tucked neatly to her side.

"Of course." She answered her student calmly, reminding him briefly of the Ancient One even if Maya rarely managed to quite exude the same serenity that the Ancient One seemed to command at all times.

"There are many books on spells, knowledge of the Mystic Arts and the many forms they have taken, even the teachings of Agamotto himself. These are the books that you seem to be inhaling."

Stephen grinned, unable to hide his smugness when Maya leveled an amused (for her, at least) look at him. It was no secret now in Kamar-Taj that Stephen was literally flying through all the books in the library; most shockingly, he retained every page, every line, every word he read. Stephen knew Maya suspected the secret to his seemingly astounding memory, but she had yet to question him on it so he didn't speak of it either.

"But there are some books that are far more powerful than others. Whether it is because of the power the book itself holds or for the knowledge within."

"Knowledge is power." Stephen said thoughtfully and Maya nodded.

"Exactly. There is a reason the biblical tales mention eating the forbidden fruit of knowledge as the first sin, the original or cardinal sin. Knowledge can be powerful, again the reason the Christian God is depicted as all-knowing, but it is also dangerous in the wrong hands. For the same reason, these spells and ancient rituals are kept safe in relics, in books that are guarded carefully against people who would misuse them as they might with any relic."

"Books… like the book of Cagliostro?" Stephen couldn't help but probe.

Maya's face immediately closed as if a curtain had been sharply drawn. Stephen knew instantly that he had pushed too far, but he couldn't hide his disappointment when Maya stood up and turned away from him.

"You will be late for your training with Master Mordo - and tardiness is not condoned at Kamar-Taj."

With that, Maya had walked out of the study, leaving a very frustrated Stephen behind as he watched her go.

* * *

That was what he found most irritating about Maya, Stephen decided.

Not even her initial dislike of him really bothered him, there had been plenty of people back at the Metro-General Hospital who didn't like him (he thought darkly of Dr. Nicodemus West) and it had never deterred him as long as he could show them he was better. But the way Maya was just as immovable in speeding up his learning, the way she refused to even contemplate his questions on the natural law, it infuriated him because he could see the potential. He could see that she could be far more open-minded than she was pretending (or maybe she really thought) she was.

But at the same time, that was why, despite everything… he liked her.

Her no-nonsense and honest attitude was refreshing when it wasn't annoying and when she deigned to engage with him on topics related to the Mystic Arts, she was actually quite fun to talk to. She was sharp, clever and highly experienced, stimulating his intellect as little had for so long that he'd forgotten the feeling, the elation and exuberation in fierce but well-structured debates. Although Stephen did notice that for a woman over thirty her knowledge of the real world outside Kamar-Taj seemed rather limited. Not knowing who Chuck Mangione was he could forgive but who didn't know the Beatles for crying out loud?

If it had been anyone else, he'd probably have walked away at once, but with Maya Stephen found it highly entertaining to see the contrast between her deep mystical knowledge and her very superficial knowledge of the world outside. If only she would stop acting like she had a stick up her backside, Stephen thought they could even be friends.

* * *

The next day saw what was the worst argument yet between Maya and Stephen.

"_Bevakupha! _Ingrate! Reckless fool!" Maya raged at Stephen, who stood properly admonished although that didn't stop the anger rising when she continued to yell at him.

"What were you thinking?! Do you realize what you could have done?!"

"It wouldn't have hurt anyone." Stephen muttered.

Maya, now calmer but no less angry, said coldly, "_You_ would have been hurt. You could have died, Strange."

"Oh, don't pretend you care." Stephen snapped, glaring at her as his own anger clouded his mind and his swallowed past disappointments blew up. "You don't like me, you never even wanted to teach me! Why does it matter to you if I tried to enter the astral plane?"

He'd just wanted to try it - to expand his knowledge and powers, to be prepared. After his spar with Mordo, Stephen had been more curious about the Mystic Arts than ever before and he admitted he might have been a little reckless… but he'd succeeded hadn't he?

"Because you are my student and I am your master."

Maya's voice was cutting and sharp as she fixed him with a hard look.

"It is not just your burden to bear my teachings, Strange. Relationships are two-way streets and it is my burden to teach you the best that I can. I may not have wanted to teach you at first, but I committed to it and I will not shy away from the responsibilities that places on me. This includes keeping you from harm, _including _from yourself! Do you realize that if I hadn't found you, you might have been stuck on the astral plane with no idea how to get back?"

Okay, so there had been that. But Stephen was convinced he would have _somehow_ figured out how to get back - it wasn't exactly rocket science to re-enter his body as he rechanted the spell, was it? He was sure he'd have thought of it… eventually.

Maya seemed to know exactly what he was thinking and her eyes narrowed.

"You claim to be clever, well-read, perhaps even consider yourself perfect and untouchable; and yet you consistently repeat the mistakes that your forefathers have told of for _centuries_." She snapped at him. "The cardinal sin, Pandora's box-"

"It was more of a storage jar the silly woman opened, than a box." Stephen muttered and Maya blew up on him.

"Do you even understand the weight of the consequences your actions can bring? Do you realize the depth of the art, the _world_, that you just beginning to scratch the surface of?" She railed at him. "You think Pandora an idiot for opening that box, yet you do not realize you are repeating her exact actions! You do not realize you could unleash something far worse than sickness or death!"

"Well, she also released Hope, didn't she?" Stephen said scathingly. "There is always a balance, Mordo's always talking about it when he talks about the Natural Law! So how will you, any of you, know that there isn't something more if you're not willing to push the boundaries?"

Something in Maya seemed to snap when he spoke of balance and boundaries and she suddenly sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly. Stephen, despite his own frustrations and irritation, felt a stab of guilt when she raised those amber eyes to him, the weariness in them concerning him.

"Stephen."

He started again at the use of his first name, which she seemed to use only when she was being deadly serious with him.

"You are right - but there is a reason we tell you to follow the rules, to slow down." She told him gravely, looking in that moment a lot older than her thirty-odd years as she seemed to shoulder the weight of the world itself.

"I understand that you think you can handle it, but you cannot throw yourself at the Mystic Arts. There are dangers you are not yet aware of, dangers not just to others but to you. We keep those from you because we want you to learn the proper foundations first but when you leap on ahead like that on your own you are risking far more than your life. You risk your mind, your very existence - your soul. Do you understand?"

Stephen shrugged in response, not really wanting to commit to an answer. She eyed him closely.

"Where did you even learn to project yourself into the astral plane?" She asked him slowly and Stephen shifted uncomfortably under her searching look.

Maya sighed and shook her head.

"You will be the death of me, Strange." She muttered before she said more loudly and sternly, "Return the book to the library and don't even think of conjuring a gateway into the library again or I _will_ confiscate your sling ring."

At Stephen's scowl she sighed again.

"Stephen."

He grumbled but met her gaze once more; and Stephen was startled to find those amber eyes filled with concern as they had been very few times since his return from Mt. Everest. Maya did not usually wear her fears on her face, let alone on her sleeve, and he finally realized just _how _serious she was being.

"I know we started off on the wrong foot and I don't make it easy for you." She said quietly. "But trust me when I say that I speak only because I am truly worried about you."

"Worried that I will become like Kaecilius?" Stephen asked snarkily before he could help himself.

Her eyes darkened even as surprise flickered across her face; apparently she hadn't known Stephen knew about Kaecilius let alone that he'd easily put two and two together to guess the root of her initial apprehension of him. But her tone was even as she replied, "Yes."

He blinked, startled at her bare-faced honesty, and Maya continued, "He didn't know what he was getting himself into. I fear you will be tempted the way he was if you continue on this path. I'm not trying to discourage your learning, believe me. We will share everything with you when it becomes appropriate, if you still wish to learn it. But rules are there for reasons and steps are enforced for the same reason a medical student is not told to operate on a real patient the first time they are given a scalpel."

Her eyes searched his as she looked for some understanding on his end.

Stephen nodded, unconvinced but grudgingly agreeing… for the moment. Maya seemed to see this and she shook her head as she dismissed him. He walked away first for once, leaving her standing in the corner of Kamar-Taj where he had hidden to practice his advanced work on his own. It never occured to Stephen until many months later to question how Maya had found him so quickly in the first place.


	5. Teacher

Stephen was still contemplating Maya's sudden about-turn in attitude the next day, wondering how much was truth and how much was calculated act to trick him into submitting to Kamar-Taj's rules.

She'd been furious with him, that had been clear; but then she'd never been quite that open with him to date. And for the first time, not to mention very unlike the other masters, Maya had still promised him his answers if he just stayed and learnt the way he should.

That was something none of the other masters nor the Ancient One had said aloud, and that verbal promise made him pause like nothing else had managed to. He knew that the masters here, no matter their other faults, were men and women of their word and he knew Maya's promise, however fleeting it had seemed, was one she would honour if he ever called on it.

But _when_?

That was the frustrating question. He knew he was advancing far quicker than the masters had anticipated: he saw it in their faces, in Master Hamir and Wong's surprise, in Mordo's pleased expressions, and Maya's sometimes grudging and sometimes genuinely proud looks. But he knew from Maya's previous attitude and his talks with her and Mordo that his progress concerned the masters to some degree. If they continued to be scared of what he might become… would they ever think he was ready? And then it also begged the question: what were they so afraid of?

But on the other hand, there was Maya's promise. There was the look that had been in her eyes as she made that promise, a little sad and worried but determined. Then there was the fact that she had finally broken one of her personal rules with him...

It was as he was arguing with himself on his way back to his quarters that Stephen was summoned to the Ancient One's study.

"Once, in this room, you begged me to let you learn." The Ancient One commented as she turned to face Stephen with a shrew look in her blue eyes.

"Now I'm told you question every lesson, prefering to teach yourself."

Stephen raised a brow - had Maya told on him? He kept his suspicions hidden beneath a calm, cool facade that he'd learnt from his time as a doctor, one that rivalled the Ancient One herself, as he answered, "Once, in this room, you told me to open my eye. Now I'm being told to blindly accept rules that make _no_ sense."

"Like the rule against conjuring a gateway in the library?" The Ancient One asked, turning to face him sternly.

"Maya told on me?" Stephen demanded, disbelief and annoyance flashing through him.

"No," the Ancient One answered as she observed him closely. "Master Wong did."

"Wong?" Stephen repeated, his annoyance directed elsewhere… and a tiny spark of relief flooding him. Maya had given him the benefit of the doubt and not reported him - somehow, that meant a lot to Stephen.

The Ancient One continued to observe him closely as she commented, "You're advancing quickly with your sorcery skills. You need a safe space to practice your spells."

She extended her hand into the centre of her study and Stephen watched in surprise as the air shifted and crinkled as though it had suddenly turned to glass. The Ancient One stepped through the mirror-like surface without looking back, clearly indicating for Stephen to follow.

He did so without hesitation, and the cool feeling - as if he'd stepped through a sheet of cold air - passed him as he entered the other side.

"You are now inside the Mirror Dimension." The Ancient One explained to him, her voice echoing strangely in the new dimension. "Ever present but undetected. The real-"

"The real world isn't affected by what happens here." Stephen finished for her absently as he looked around, his eyes still bright but not wondering as they should have been.

The Ancient One voiced her surprise.

"You know of it?" She asked, her tone a little sharper than intended as she realized Stephen's knowledge was beyond even what she had expected.

"Maya showed it to me this morning." Stephen explained, missing the look that flitted across the Ancient One's face as he examined one of the jarred edges of the dimension. "She said it was used to train, surveil, and sometimes contain threats."

"This is all true." The Ancient One said slowly, watching him intently. "It seems Maya trusts you quite a great deal after all."

"What do you mean?" Stephen asked, frowning as he turned back to the Ancient One. "You _just_ said it's true that this dimension is used to contain threats and you have both shown me into it to practice. How is that trusting me?"

"I doubt she was talking about you when she mentioned threats." The Ancient One answered a little dryly, her face smooth now and unreadable.

Stephen pursed his lips unhappily but he knew he was going to get nothing further out of her (to his added frustration) while the Ancient One continued her lesson with him.

"You should also know that you don't want to be stuck in here without your sling ring."

She manipulated the room, expanding it and making the mirrored extensions bend and curve in on itself in an alarming way. Her blue eyes were steely as she stared him down and Stephen wondered, not for the first time, what exactly the Ancient One was hiding from him - possibly from everyone.

* * *

"What other threats exist out there?"

Maya looked up, startled, as Stephen stood before her impatiently.

"Did I not tell you-" She began irritably and Stephen cut through her impatiently, "That it's rude to interrupt people who are meditating unless it's for a good reason. Yes, yes, but this _is_ a good reason. What other threats exist out there?"

"I beg your pardon?" Maya asked, still annoyed and not quite sure what Stephen was talking about.

"You hinted before that the rules exist for a reason." Stephen said impatiently, his eyes boring into hers as he watched her every facial reaction. "I assumed you were talking about how Kaecilius fell into some kind of darkness, how he stole from the Book of Cagliostro and killed the former librarian. But there's more, isn't there? It's not just him that you're afraid of, that exists as a threat to Kamar-Taj."

Maya's face tightened, proving him right.

"You said you would tell me everything." Stephen said and Maya snapped, "I said when you're ready."

"You said when it's appropriate." Stephen corrected, eyes narrowing. "I think it's now appropriate given I am _asking_ you."

"As opposed to you illegally breaking into the library you mean?" Maya asked dryly.

Stephen didn't budge, and she sighed before getting up. Her movement brought her closer to Stephen's face although he was still a good several inches taller than her where he stood tall above her.

"Stephen, you have to understand." She said in a low voice and Stephen was alerted to the fact that she sounded… troubled.

He therefore listened intently as she continued, "When you learn of an infinite multiverse, you need to be prepared to learn of infinite dangers."

"I think I am prepared." Stephen insisted, heading off her argument… or trying to. But Maya shook her head.

"I don't think you are." She replied quietly, her gaze apologetic… and again he saw that strange sadness. "I think that if Mordo and I told you everything we know, if I asked Ama to tell you everything _she_ knows-"

Stephen jerked at this revelation. He couldn't say it completely surprised him that the Ancient One hadn't shared everything even with her own adopted daughter and possibly the most experienced master still alive aside from maybe Master Hamir, but… it did surprise him a little. It was one thing to have suspicions; it was quite another to have them confirmed.

"Stephen."

He looked at Maya again, refocusing as she stared up at him and now he could see her expression was genuinely troubled.

"I think if you learnt everything, you'd run from here in terror. Or worse."

Stephen heard what went unsaid, and he murmured it aloud, "I could end up like Kaecilius."

She nodded once. Stephen swallowed but he accepted his disappointment for once.

"And then you wouldn't be able to kick my ass into the ground like I know you love doing." He joked.

Surprise flitted across her face, and for a brief moment Maya searched his eyes. He just met her gaze evenly and Stephen's heart leapt strangely when a genuine smile flashed across Maya's face for the first time since he'd known her. The smile lit up her amber eyes and made her look years younger; and it did a funny thing to his heart that he wasn't sure he liked as she relaxed her stance, placing one hand on her hip as her lips curved into a smirk next.

"_Bevakupha._" Maya chuckled.

"I'm not an idiot." Stephen replied, wiping the smirk off Maya's face.

He caught the look of surprise on her face and it was his turn to smirk smugly.

"What you thought I wouldn't look up what it meant?" He asked.

"I don't know." Maya replied, blurting out her thoughts honestly in her surprise. "I didn't think you'd know how to look it up."

"I searched bad words in Nepali on Google Translate." Stephen replied, smiling even more smugly when he saw he'd managed to surprise her again. "Surprisingly, I didn't think of trying to search the word idiot until about the eighth try. I had been pretty certain you had been calling me some variation of asshole."

Maya laughed at him, shaking her head. Stephen joined in the laughter, enjoying the fresh and almost innocent sound that had erupted out of her. Neither of them noticed the shadowy figure with thoughtful blue eyes that watched their interaction from the far corner of the courtyard.

* * *

"Nope." Maya said boredly.

Stephen groaned.

"I thought I had it." He muttered and her lips twitched.

"Well, you thought wrong." She replied coolly. "Now, try again."

Stephen frowned but he fell into thought again before he lit up again.

"Voltor!" He said and a hint of a smile ghosted across Maya's lips.

"Only took you two tries." She jested, knowing Stephen hated not being right the first time although she was rather impressed by his memory. This had been a challenging question from her end given that it would have need him to sort through everything he had read and make four connections to get the right answer - he'd missed the fourth one the first time. Why did people always stop after three? Maya wondered.

Knowing that feeding his ego was the last thing she would want, Maya refrained from expressing the depth of how impressed she was as Stephen grumbled momentarily before he at her. Instantly, she was on guard as she examined the amusement twinkling in his blue-green eyes and the smirk that was making its way up his face.

"What?" She asked suspiciously and Stephen leant back casually in his chair, where he was seated across from her in one of the many study halls.

The room was currently empty as most people were at dinner after training, but after Stephen had finished early they had chosen to sit in the hall where Maya quizzed Stephen on his knowledge of the Mystic Arts. It had gone on longer than expected and she sort of regretted not calling time earlier and going to dinner when she read the mischief in his eyes now.

"It's my turn." Stephen announced and Maya cocked a brow.

"As clever as I have no doubt you are, Strange," she said dryly. "I highly doubt you'll know something I don't."

"In the Mystic Arts, yes, I will give you that." Stephen nodded. "In pop culture, however..."

Maya sat up instantly, her face guarded and Stephen smirked.

"We should get to dinner." She muttered but Stephen asked, "Are you running away from a challenge, Master Garthe?"

Maya glared at him and Stephen knew he had her. Maya was a bright woman in her own right and she hated losing or not knowing anything as much as he did. It was why she disliked when he reminded her just how weak her knowledge of popular culture was - exactly like now.

But backing down from a challenge was something she loathed even more so Maya snapped, "Fine. But if you're _challenging_ me, it had better be something I am capable of knowing."

"Every pop culture reference I threw at you before should have been something you were capable of knowing, Maya." Stephen answered dryly as he thought of all the times he'd made a joke or reference to famous pop culture icons and Maya had been utterly clueless. Not knowing the Beatles? Okay, fine - but who, born in the last fifty years, didn't know Michael Jackson?!

Maya shot him a dark look, probably guessing what he was thinking. Stephen just grinned innocently while he thought for a moment, searching his own vast collection of pop culture knowledge. Recalling how the one and only time Maya had gotten his reference was when he'd quoted Beyonce, he smirked.

"If you can name Beyonce's first solo album, I'll concede for today." Stephen said confidently. "I won't even expect the year, but-"

"'Dangerously in Love', June 2003."

Stephen gaped at Maya's fast response and Maya smirked at him.

"Oh, look at that." She mocked but her amber eyes were dancing and she suddenly looked so much like an excited girl that Stephen had to blink and resist the urge to rub his eyes. "Looks like I've managed to shut up the great Stephen Strange."

She got up and flounced - _flounced!_ Stephen was sure his jaw was on the ground - out with her appropriately light, purple robes and yellow sash flourishing behind her. In the doorway, she turned and threw him one more smirk.

"Maybe that will teach you not to underestimate me, _Dr._ Strange."

Maya disappeared while Stephen was left, a little stunned. His heart was stuttering, something he was certain had to do with the use of his old title again in… was it already almost two years? Time had flown, especially at Kamar-Taj where he'd been for nine months now. Nine months… yes, that was it, he was just unfamiliar with the use of his title and it had been jarring to remember that old life.

That was it. It had absolutely nothing to do with the way the setting sun had hit her eyes just right to make them seem like they glowed the same shade as the yellow tunic she wore beneath her purple tunic, and which lit up her face with the softest of glows. Yes, it had nothing to do with that. Nothing at all.


	6. Student

Maya Garthe had to admit, she was not used to feeling this way.

In all her time at Kamar-Taj, she had formed only a few meaningful connections. Of those few people, she honestly cared for and loved even fewer and she had quite recently lost one such person. The person she had probably loved second only to the Ancient One, to her Ama, and whose betrayal had cut all the more for it.

But it was different with Stephen, whatever _it_ was that she felt around Stephen.

She'd get odd tingles whenever he smiled when he was genuinely happy about something (usually related to his progress or when he'd made a particularly good joke, at least, in his mind); whenever his brow would furrow slightly and the wrinkles around his eyes crinkled when he was in deep thought; whenever those blue-green eyes looked right into hers, confident yet searching.

It was most bizarre.

At first, Maya had attributed it to her apprehension of his latent abilities; to her fear of the familiar bitter self-absorption that could ruin all his potential. That fear never quite dissipated… it couldn't, not when she was constantly reminded by the Ancient One's mysterious disappearances every few days of the man whom they had failed and had failed them. Of the man that Maya had feared at the beginning that Stephen would also become.

But now… now she wasn't so sure. Now, and this was what disturbed her thoughts, she wanted him to prove her wrong. Why? What had changed, she wondered.

Was she fond of him? Yes, she supposed that somewhere, despite herself, Stephen Strange had wormed his way under her calloused skin. He was most certainly entertaining to be around, lifting her spirits often although it wasn't usually because of his many, many jokes that more often than not flew right over her head. He never gave up, however, and it was that which she found endearing. And of course, the same tenacity lent power to his physical training as well, and Maya was always proud when her students improved and overcame obstacles. Stephen was proving to be her best student to date, so naturally she'd be fond of him… but was that all?

No, Maya knew it wasn't. She actually liked being around him, sparring with him with words not just fists, and it had been quite some time since she had had a new intellectual to debate with. He challenged her in ways she never had been before, always a refreshing change - when he didn't overstep the wretched line only he seemed unable to see. When he stayed within reasonable limits, it was always fun to stretch their knowledge as far as they could and the extent of his memory always astonished her.

He'd finally admitted to his photographic memory - as Maya had suspected early on in his training - and to say she was and continued to be impressed by it was an understatement.

But it also worried her, and she'd made Stephen promise he wouldn't abuse it again. In exchange, she would help him advance his studies past what the masters had intended for him to learn - so long as it was still safe for his progress. She couldn't stress the importance of learning the Mystic Arts with at least _some_ patience: there was so much that could go wrong, so much that could be dangerous not just to Stephen but to the universe itself if he didn't show _some_ restraint.

But it seemed that lesson was going to take much drilling into him - although he had grudgingly improved even in this respect over the last month or so. Something that had only further solidified her affections for him.

'_Affections?_' Maya repeated to herself, shuddering and rolling onto her back as she made herself more comfortable on her bed. '_Agamotto - next thing you know, my bloody heart will be melting like a schoolgirl._'

* * *

It was also around the time that marked Stephen's nine month since arriving at Kamar-Taj that he finally asked the question.

"So, what is there to actually _do_ in Kathmandu? Besides, you know, the Mystic Arts."

Maya looked up from where she was reading a text that Stephen was unable to decipher without the help of Google Translate. Or if Maya deigned to help translate it for him, which was sometimes worth it because she was naturally a better translator than Google (which had once translated a complex spell as 'she daddy now pokemon'). But other times, it was not worth Maya intermittently making jabs at the fact that _Americans_ (her tone when she said it always made him frown petulantly) could only speak one language while most other people in the modern world spoke at least two languages with mild fluency. He knew she didn't really mean it but Maya seemed to get a kick out of making fun of Stephen's own lack of ability to apparently pick up another language.

Sometimes, he wasn't sure why he was friends (sort of) with Maya at all.

Maya tilted her head slightly as she contemplated Stephen's question with a slight frown.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

Again wondering why he was (kind of) friends with this woman, Stephen rephrased, "What do you do when you leave Kamar-Taj, for example? Are there, you know, coffee shops that you would recommend, maybe a sandwich place, a temple to visit even if you clearly don't believe in any God, maybe a bar or festival?"

For a moment, Maya stared at him as if he had spouted some alien language. Stephen waited patiently - or as patiently as he could - for some response.

"You do know what a festival is, right?" Stephen asked at last.

Annoyance crossed Maya's expression at that and she snapped, "Of course I know _what_ a festival is."

And there was why Stephen was (maybe) friends with Maya. She hated to lose as much as he did, and despised being wrong or looking like she was ignorant. Perhaps to a fault. But Stephen was well-acquainted with the flaws and the strengths of such traits. It was what had made him the prodigy doctor he had been and he knew it was what had made her, despite how much he sometimes truly did think he despised the fact, a skilled Master of the Mystic Arts.

Besides, he found the way her left eye twitched under her furrowed brows and how her lips pursed into a soft pout whenever he managed to catch her off-guard rather adorable.

"So, is there a festival somewhere around here?" Stephen challenged Maya at last when she didn't say anymore.

Maya bit her lip, her flash of irritation born from injured pride fading as uncertainty took over. Stephen thought that this was really the real reason he found Maya's reactions hilarious and endearing. It was these flashes of the person beneath the Master, the hints of the sweeter young woman Stephen could somewhat imagine Maya had once been under the hard and soured woman she exuded now, that he found himself waiting to see. Wanting to see.

"So...?" Stephen prompted again when Maya still didn't say anything.

"Well..." Maya began stiffly before she trailed off, looking uncomfortable.

Stephen waited, at first patient before he slowly raised a brow as Maya seemed to lapse into a permanent silence.

"Don't tell me… you don't know?" Stephen asked in disbelief. "How can you not know? You've lived here practically your whole life!"

The look of annoyance returned and Maya's left eye twitched again.

"We're too busy keeping watch over the safety of the people of this world-!"

Maya began indignantly but Stephen cut her off as he asked skeptically, "So you're too busy looking out for the world that you've never gone out to see it?"

Maya paused, and Stephen knew he was right. He shook his head.

"If you don't know the world that you're protecting, how do you know you're really protecting the right things in it?" Stephen asked.

Maya hesitated, and Stephen knew then just how close they really had become. Some months ago, not only would he have not bothered to ask Maya about anything other than the Mystic Arts, Stephen was positive that Maya would have snapped at him in response to his question. Probably she would have spouted some textbook answer about how the Ancient One's protection was what kept the Earth safe and who was Stephen to question their methods.

Now, however, after a brief struggle in which Maya seemed to be carefully choosing her words, she replied slowly.

"I have peered into many different dimensions across the multiverse that we live in, and I have seen a great variety of cultures and life forms. But across all those worlds, one thing has always remained constant. There are those with power that will prey on the weak and those who would bring ruin to others purely for their own gain. And that is never right. It is against such powers that we protect our world - there is no question about it."

With a sigh, she added quietly, "But you are correct that I have, perhaps, looked at the world from afar for too long."

Stephen digested this information, more contemplative of Maya's tone and her expression than her actual words. He'd heard her spout her (or rather the Ancient One's) ideals on numerous occasions and he had had to listen to her lecture on about why the Mystic Arts were important and why it was critical to respect the laws that ruled it, more times than he liked to count. But this time, he could see Maya and not Master Garthe in the way Maya's eyes traced her own fingers awkwardly as she spoke, the way she held herself a little more stiffly which told Stephen she felt the shame in knowing he was partially right in pointing out her fault in her naivety of the world. And there was also a hint of some sadness, some unidentifiable pain in her gaze as she seemed to sink into her own thoughts. A sorrow that Stephen knew instinctively was not something he was privy to - and he wondered if he ever would be.

Stephen was just wondering if he should steer the topic when Maya seemed to shake herself and she looked up at him once more.

"To answer your original question, there's sometimes a market?" Maya offered although she made it seem more like a question.

It instantly made Stephen dubious and he couldn't help but ask, "And when was the last time you went to this market?"

Maya balked and that was answer enough. Stephen shrugged.

"Oh well, it's still worth a shot." He decided, bounding up on his feet. "Let's go."

Maya stared at him.

"Me?" She asked, looking as taken aback as if Stephen had suggested they go to the North Pole together. In fact, he suspected she would have been less surprised if he'd suggested they cross the universe to fight an evil spirit.

"Yes." Stephen replied, holding out a trembling hand toward Maya. "I can't exactly go alone. I don't even know where this so-called market is, and besides, markets are always better when you go with someone."

"I don't think-" Maya began, looking down at Stephen's hand uncertainly. But he interrupted her.

"Come on, Master Garthe. Learn to live a little." Her eyes flew up to his at his challenging tone. "Or are you scared?"

Maya stiffened before she slowly shut her book.

"Very well." She stood, taking Stephen's hand more out of politeness than necessity. "But Strange?"

"Yeah?" Stephen responded absent-mindedly, his mind already on the market they were about to visit. But his attention was brought sharply back to the present as Maya whirled him to face her, pulling his hand so that he was forced down to her eye-level.

Stephen blinked, shocked at how close he was to her face as Maya stared at him with perfect calm.

"The next time you try to trick me into joining you, you will find yourself very painfully welded to the ground. Are we clear?"

Stephen gulped and Maya let him go and waltzed out of the room.

"Well, come along, Stephen. Don't just dawdle there."

* * *

"I don't understand." Maya said as she and Stephen walked away from the vendor stall they'd spent the better part of thirty minutes in front of. "Why would anyone do that?"

"Well, because there are, shall we say, 'bad people' in this world." Stephen answered, finally exasperated as he found their argument going around in circles. "She was one of them."

"But why would he then write about her?"

"Why do poets write about heartbreak and playwrights write about outlandish plots?" Stephen countered and Maya frowned. "There's nothing like drama to get the creativity pumping."

Maya was still frowning and she protested, "But you said he wasn't interested and he wasn't the father. So why would he write a song dedicated to her?"

"Maya," Stephen said at last, exhausted and wondering just how he had gotten to this point. It had all started innocently enough until he'd picked up an LP and Maya had asked him about it. His amusement yet again with her lack of pop culture had quickly evaporated as they debated for over half an hour. "There are many things about Michael Jackson that we question. Billy Jean is just not one of them."

Maya's frown remained.

"That seems silly." She muttered. "People question a singer's choice of pets but not his lyrics?"

Stephen sighed internally, giving up. Perhaps he shouldn't have told her about Jackson's interesting pet choices before she ever really knew who he was. He switched topics, focusing on his growling stomach.

"I'm starving - do you want to stop for dinner?" He questioned and Maya shrugged.

"Sure; although they've probably already served dinner at Kamar-Taj." She replied as she started to turn. Stephen stopped her, looking puzzled.

"No, well, why don't we grab something to eat here?" He asked. "We haven't finished looking around the market anyway."

Maya gave him an odd look.

"What would we pay with?" She asked and Stephen stared at her.

"You… don't have any money?" Stephen asked in disbelief. "How can you come to a market with no money?"

Maya blinked and another thought occurred to him.

"Do you even have… any money?"

Maya shook her head and Stephen threw up his hands.

"How can you have no money?"

"The Ancient One has funds of course but we never need to use it." Maya answered with a shrug. "We grow our own food and we are able to trade for most of the things we need."

"So you just work for her and get no money?"

Maya just shot him a look that was a cross between defensive and teasing.

"You are the last person I should think is allowed to lecture me on the subject of money." She answered. "How did you say you spent your last dollar again?"

"It brought me here, didn't it?" Stephen retorted in a similar manner. "I rather think it was a last dollar well-spent."

"While that may be true, remind me where the rest of your money went?"

Stephen winced, and his gaze flitted down to his hands. Maya paused, realizing she had perhaps taken the joke too far as his hands had always remained a sore spot with Stephen. While tempted to turn away and shift the conversation as both she and Stepehn were wont to do lately, Maya instead quietly took Stephen's hand in both her own.

His eyes lifted to look at her in a mix of surprise and apprehension, and Maya also thought she detected a hint of shame or distaste in the way his hands continued to shake within her steady grasp. Unlike so far in their weird relationship, Maya focused on that part and she looked Stephen in the eye as she spoke softly.

"Do not give up hope, Stephen. Only time will tell whether your hands will heal the way you want them to, but it may be that fate will bring far greater things for you than the ability to wield a scalpel once more."

"Like drawing circles in the air?" Stephen couldn't help the retort even if his voice remained low.

Maya just stared at him steadily before releasing his hands.

"Perhaps." She answered. "But I for one believe that you were meant for bigger things. Don't let that get to your head though."

Stephen couldn't help chuckle as he walked after Maya when she started off down the road once again.

"I never would have thought you would one day be praising me." Stephen teased and Maya smiled.

"As a great author once said, I dare say it's because you haven't had much practice. Some people would believe in as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

"Lewis Carroll." Stephen said with no small amount of surprise. And incredulity. "_How_ do you know Lewis Carroll but not Michael Jackson?"

Maya smiled again at his humour while Stephen reflected, "But thank you. I think I needed to hear you say that."

"Needed to be brought down a peg or two?" Maya teased lightly and Stephen laughed as they walked amongst the hustle and bustle of the market-goers. "You are very welcome."

"Christine was quite good at that too, now that I think about it." Stephen reflected. Maya glanced at him.

"This Christine that you speak of… is she the one who gave you that watch? The one that you were so desperate not to lose that you would have become a bag of blood had Karl not come to rescue you?"

Stephen looked at her, unable to hide his surprise.

"Don't give me that look - Karl had a lot to say about you to convince me to teach you." Maya muttered but that wasn't what had surprised Stephen.

"What made you think it was her?" He asked, staring at Maya intently.

"I saw what was written on the back." Maya answered uncomfortably.

At Stephen's renewed surprise, she added defensively, "I wasn't snooping - I came in to wake you that second day you arrived and I saw something flashing on your bedside. I happened to see the engraving when I looked over to see what was reflecting the sunlight and her name was there."

"Oh." Stephen paused before he decided that it wouldn't hurt to tell Maya a little bit more of the truth. Of his past. "Christine gave me that when we first started going out."

Maya glanced at him but didn't comment as Stephen continued.

"I'd just won my first award for a paper I had written. Christine and I were always close, although she would say it's because she was the only person who could stand my big head."

"I think I like her." Maya remarked and Stephen chuckled.

"You would. She didn't put up with any of my bullsh*t either." Stephen smiled as he thought back to those days. "She gave me that gift as a promise and reminder that no matter what, she'd always be there for me."

Maya felt a strange stab in her chest and she wondered if hunger was making her chest hurt. She rubbed it absently while Stephen's eyes lifted to the sky regretfully.

"She was always there for me but I treated her terribly before leaving for Nepal." He admitted softly. "If there was anything I could do over, I…"

He trailed off while Maya also stared off into the distance in silence. His regret had reminded her of her own and the usual dull pain flared in her heart. But there was something else; a new kind of pain. No, not pain exactly - just a strange tightening in her chest that for some inexplicable reason hurt almost as much as the old wound. What it was, she couldn't say - but perhaps this Christine was wise in what she had once written for Stephen. Time would tell all.

* * *

The next day saw Maya standing with Mordo and Wong in the Seeing room, observing the cosmic readings on the ceiling while the Ancient One disappeared on another of her mysterious travels.

She had taken many such trips alone in the past, usually to scout for dangers whether in other parts of the world or the multiverse itself, but with Stephen's training well underway she was disappearing increasingly often. Maya suspected she was still searching for Kaecilius, hoping to heed him off before he did whatever he was planning to do. Usually, Maya would argue to go with her but with Stephen at the temple she was forced to cede to the Ancient One's orders to stay. Still, it made Maya huff. All these years and her Ama still chose to work, for the most part, alone.

Their meeting was just wrapping up when it happened.

"And-"

Wong broke off, Mordo and Maya becoming equally as alert as they all felt it. The surge of darker power, _inside_ Kamar-Taj - a power that should not be activated.

"Kaecilius!" Mordo gasped.


	7. Curiosity killed

"Kaecilius."

Maya was already out the door before Mordo had finished speaking, almost flying such was her speed while her mind raced.

He couldn't be here, there was no way he had slipped through their barriers this time. The last time, they had been blindsided by the depth of his betrayal but they were prepared this time. He couldn't, he-

Her heart beat widely and Maya thought she was about to die of shock when she ran into the lower levels of the library to see Stephen performing a ritual she had never seen and hoped to never see. Glass-like panels had appeared before Stephen, splintering and cracked as it continued to expand slowly while crystal chimes sounded.

She almost stumbled but her fear - of the spell and for Stephen's very life - made her scream as she threw out her hand, "STOP!"

Her magic, an orange pulsing light, shattered the panel, causing it to crash to the ground even as it disappeared now that Stephen's concentration had faltered. Before he could blink the yellow, silky-looking sash that was always wrapped around Maya's waist shot out to an inconceivable length, wrapping around each of his wrists and forcing them out to the side, immobilising him.

"Maya?!" He yelped, startled, as she, Mordo and Wong ran deeper into the room to face him.

Her face as she faced him was pale, her amber eyes wild. Stephen was startled by her expression, one he had never seen before, and it silenced him even more than Mordo's sharp reprimand.

"Tampering with the continuum probabilities is forbidden!"

"I... I wa... I was just doing exactly what it said in the book!" Stephen protested shakily.

"And what did the book say about the dangers of performing that ritual?" Wong retorted sharply and Stephen swallowed.

"I-I don't know. I haven't gotten to that part yet." Stephen muttered, glancing down at the open pages of the book.

Pages that had once been ripped out by Kaecilius but were now restored because of his use of Time magic. Mordo sucked in a sharp breath at what he saw but it was Maya's cutting voice that spoke next as she hissed at Stephen.

"Temporal manipulations can create branches in time. Unstable dimensional openings. Spacious paradoxes! Time loops!"

She was shaking and Stephen realized she was afraid - no, she was frightened. Of him; of what he had almost done.

"Do you want to be stuck reliving the same moment over, and over, forever?" Mordo was equally angry although less fearful than Maya as he at least found control over the situation before them. "Or never even existing at all?"

Stephen lowered his eyes, unable to meet Maya's furious, sparkling amber ones or Mordo's dark ones, and he muttered, "They really should put the warnings before that stuff."

"Do you realize how serious this is?!" Maya screamed, startling Mordo out of his own anger. She didn't notice or care. "Your curiosity could have gotten you killed, you bevakupha."

"Stop calling me that!" Stephen protested, his own anger spiking now. "Look, I'm sorry, all right? I didn't mean to-to manipulate the time continuum-"

"You weren't manipulating the space-time continuum, you were wrecking it."

Wong's voice was stern as he spoke in a low voice, his gaze dark and just as angered as Maya's as he stared Stephen down. He snatched up the Book of Cagliostro and he growled at Stephen furiously.

"We do not tamper with natural law. We defend it."

The librarian turned to replace the book safely back in its place amongst the Ancient One's private collection. Maya slowly released Stephen's arms, and he awkwardly shuffled as she sent him one more withering glare before turning away.

So much for being friends. He thought morosely, before he started at himself. He hadn't realized he truly thought of Maya as a friend but now that he had he realized it was true. Somewhere along the line, he'd come to really respect her and think of her as someone he could confide in and trust. But now it seemed that was all gone. I didn't even get to ask her about her sash...

"How did you learn to do that?"

Stephen was broken from his depressing thoughts at the question and he looked at Mordo, who was staring at him with a hint of curiosity now that the danger had passed. But his question confused Stephen, and he cocked his head as he looked back at Mordo questioningly.

"Where did you learn the litany of spells required to even understand it?" Mordo rephrased.

Stephen shifted uncomfortably again, and he glanced at Maya's back as he admitted, "I've got a photographic memory. It's how I got my M.D. and Ph.D. at the same time."

He'd promised Maya he wouldn't abuse his intellectual gift, his memory and his quick understanding; but he hadn't been able to help it. The book was just sitting there, as if calling out to him and Wong wasn't anywhere to be seen. The missing pages, he'd burned with curiosity the first time he'd noticed they were torn out; and when he realized he could bring them back and read them, he'd leapt at the chance knowing it probably wasn't going to come again.

But was it worth it? Looking at Maya now as she glared at him in pure fury, Stephen wondered for the first time if maybe it had been worth satisfying his curiosity. His gaze fell to his hands, his still trembling hands. They had never been cured and he was reminded of the disappointment in Christine's eyes as she'd watched him chase after more and more desperate attempts to fix what had been his life. His hands clenched. Yes, he realized. It had still been worth it to prove he wasn't a failure.

His thoughts were interrupted again as Mordo said in a voice mixed with incredulity and awe, "What you just did takes more than a good memory. You were born for the Mystic Arts."

"And yet, my hands still shake." Stephen replied stiffly, curling his hands into fists.

'Born for the Mystic Arts'... yet they continued to hide things from him, treating him as fragile, and worst of all Stephen was well aware that Maya could easily have him kicked out now. She was the Ancient One's daughter; more importantly she was, as far as he could tell, the second highest in command and the only reason he hadn't been ousted before was because she respected her Ama enough to give him a chance no matter how much she didn't want to. She wouldn't be so kind now.

"For now, yes." Wong replied to Stephen's assertion, having returned and looking more relaxed and slightly pitying now that the book was safe again.

It was like a foreboding statement of his doom, and Stephen answered harshly, "Not forever?"

"We're not prophets." Mordo shook his head.

Maya glanced over, her gaze unreadable, closed. It was the last straw for Stephen.

"When do you start telling me what we are?" He demanded, staring right into Maya's eyes.

She bristled and she snapped sharply, "Watch yourself, Strange. You are hardly in any position to be making accusations."

"Or maybe I am, Master Garthe." Stephen snapped back angrily. "Don't lie to me, I know you haven't taught me fairly, not really. You're too scared to, you have been from the beginning, all because of a mistake someone else made. You constantly compare me to a murderer and yet you expect me to just sit back quietly and accept the fact that you all refuse to tell me the full truth."

"I do not-" Maya began hotly but Stephen challenged her.

"Don't you? Look me in the eye and tell me it wasn't because of Kaecilius that you refused to and still refuse to teach me everything that you should. That I can learn."

Her eyes narrowed in response, her anger showing again as her amber eyes fired up, but Mordo spoke up.

"He deserves to know."

"Karl-" Maya began in a deadly voice but Mordo held his ground.

"We kept this from him too long, and it was not his fault. You know as well as I do that if Kaecilius had not betrayed us, we would have accelerated Strange's training months ago. We drove him to this."

He gestured to the Eye of Agamotto that still hung around Stephen's neck.

Maya's glare had darkened and she hissed back, "And you know as well as I do that it was exactly because of that preferential treatment that Kaecilius's inflated ego was never checked and he betrayed us."

Her eyes swung to Stephen, and he flinched under her accusatory glare.

"I gave you a chance." Maya said in a cold voice, a voice that cut Stephen more than he liked or cared to admit. "You swore to me, Stephen Strange, that you would trust me with your training and you would not seek out spells that you are not ready for. You have broken that oath. I do not award second chances, even if I will respect the opinions of my fellow masters enough not to kick you out this very second if they allow you to remain."

Stephen's heart jolted - and it was not in pleasure at hearing he would be able to stay.

He watched as Maya turned on her heel, and he opened his mouth to speak, to call after her; maybe not to apologize for what he had done per se, because he still didn't think he was wrong for being curious, but for doing so like a thief in the night. Like Kaecilius. But before he could say anything, Maya spoke shortly over her shoulder.

"Hear what you have wanted to know from the beginning; satisfy your curiosity. But know that it comes at a cost. I refuse to teach you any further and I hereby refuse your admittance to Kamar-Taj. Wherever your future may take you, you will never find an ally in me. And heed my last warning, Strange: if you cannot learn to curb your curiosity, it will one day kill you. And no amount of satisfaction will be enough to bring you back."

She stalked out, leaving behind a cold, tense silence.

"She's angry."

Wong spoke rather unnecessarily and Stephen couldn't help himself from replying scathingly, "Yeah, I figured that out for myself funnily enough."

"I don't believe that now is the time for your sarcasm, Strange." Mordo observed and Stephen whirled on the other man with a mix of irritation, frustration and a hint of desperation to know he wasn't completely wrong.

"You don't agree with her. I know you don't." Stephen insisted. "Not just because of the way you sided with me just now, but because you know I'm right. I'm not like him, and I'm ready to be told something other than that I'm not ready."

Mordo paused, before he bobbed his head briefly in acquiescence.

"It's true I believe that there is more to you, Stephen." Mordo said at last. "And I don't agree with Maya that you will be like Kaecilius, as she fears."

"Okay." Stephen seemed to sag a little in relief at Mordo's words before he looked between the two remaining Masters in the room. "So, what do I do now?"

"Now, you have a choice." Mordo replied, his eyes searching but otherwise unreadable as he stared at Stephen. "You can go after Master Garthe, apologize and beg for her forgiveness."

"I would highly recommend you choose this." Wong added gravely. "Maya is the oldest master at Kamar-Taj in terms of experience, second to only the Ancient One-"

'Huh. Didn't know that - Always thought it would be Master Hamir.' Stephen thought absently.

"-and it is not wise to have her so antagonized." Wong finished.

Stephen was silent as he thought about this.

It wasn't wise; but Stephen knew that no matter how much he begged, Maya would not forgive him so easily this time. She'd shown him trust and - although he still didn't quite regret it enough to say he would do it differently - he had broken that trust. And in doing so, he'd reminded her of the man she had been betrayed by, a man - Stephen now realized - she must have grown up with.

He didn't know how long Kaecilius had been at Kamar-Taj and had it had never occurred to him before, but if Maya was indeed the oldest master after the Ancient One then it was quite conceivable that despite her youthful appearance (at least, compared to the other masters) she had taught Kaecilius. Had bent the rules for him from the sounds of things. And he had betrayed her.

Stephen knew she wouldn't forgive him now, not when he'd proven - in her mind - that he was the same as Kaecilius. As she had feared, deep down, since Stephen had first stepped into Kamar-Taj.

"What's the other option?" Stephen asked.

Mordo's expression was grim and his tone heavy but he still replied, "You can stay and we will explain to you what you are owed."

Stephen weighed his choices. One was impossible anyway. But the other meant he would either discover the truth and work to prove to Maya he wasn't like what she feared even after knowing the truth… or he would do what (he now realized) the masters somewhat expected and feared he would do: he would run away. Which was worse?

It only took a second to come to the conclusion. There hadn't been a choice, not since he'd chosen to take up the Eye of Agamotto in a fit of curiosity.

"Tell me."

* * *

The unlikely trio stood in the centre of the Seeing once more, the mood sombre as Wong opened up the map of the cosmos on the ceiling.

"While heroes like the Avengers protect the world from physical dangers, we sorcerers safeguard it against more mystical threats."

Wong began in a tone as grave as his expression as he showed Stephen the cosmic energy that swirled constantly in the multiverse, the threat that Kaecilius posed a pebble in the vast universe where a much graver threat had been looming for years. That the masters had been so focused on that they hadn't realized the monster they were breeding until it was too late.

"The Ancient One is the latest in a long line of Sorcerers Supreme going back thousands of years to the father of the Mystic Arts, the mighty Agamotto."

Wong looked down at Stephen briefly, his gaze disapproving.

"The same sorcerer who created the eye you so recklessly borrowed."

Stephen avoided Wong's stare, the green-jeweled medallion hanging against his chest suddenly feeling very heavy on his neck. Wong moved on.

"Agamotto built 3 Sanctums in places of power, where great cities now stand."

Wong gestured to one of the tall doors that Stephen realized stood in all around the circular room. He'd previously thought they were ornate decorations but now he realized they were three enormous, closed gateways that stood from floor to ceiling.

"That door leads to the Hong Kong Sanctum, that door to the New York Sanctum."

Wong gestured at each door as he explained, pointing last to the door that stood right opposite Stephen.

"That one, to the London Sanctum. Together, the Sanctums generate a protective shield around our world."

"The Sanctums protect the world, and we sorcerers protect the Sanctums." Mordo explained, his voice as grave as Wong's though he remained infinitely kinder, willing to forgive Stephen for what Mordo sincerely believed was a momentary lapse of judgment caused by a lack of true understanding of the natural law.

Stephen frowned at Mordo's words, and he asked slowly, "From what?"

"Other-dimensional beings that threaten our universe." Mordo answered.

"Like Dormammu?" Stephen questioned and Wong looked up sharply.

"Where did you learn that name?" The librarian demanded and Stephen shifted uncomfortably.

"I just read it in the Book of Cagliostro." He answered uneasily. "Why?"

Mordo and Wong exchanged significant looks, looks Stephen wasn't sure he liked, before Wong touched the stone in the centre of the pedestal they were gathered around. The ceiling changed from a view of the cosmos to what looked like a dark cloud, a dimension Stephen had a vague feeling he might have seen before, probably during his brief stint in the multiverse the first day he had arrived at Kamar-Taj.

As he changed the view, Wong explained to Stephen, "Dormammu dwells in the Dark Dimension. Beyond Time. He is the cosmic conquerer, the destroyer of worlds. A being of infinite power and endless hunger, on a quest to invade every universe and bring all worlds into his Dark Dimension. And he hungers for Earth most of all."

"The pages that Kaecilius stole." Stephen realized, and Mordo nodded.

"A ritual to contact Dormammu and draw power from the Dark Dimension." He confirmed.

Stephen stared at the two grim masters, and he coughed uncomfortably.

"Uh… haha…" Stephen tried to laugh, overwhelmed and incredulous at not just the information he had received but at the looks he was receiving. Wong and Mordo were now looking at Stephen very expectantly, their eyes reflecting some deep assumption that he would join them in their noble quest.

Stephen's heart jolted at the realization. For the first time, he thought that Maya was right, that he didn't want to know what was really going on at Kamar-Taj. What plans the masters had.

"Uhhhh okay. Okay." Stephen raised his still trembling hands as he protested, "Um, I-I'm out. I... I came here to heal my hands, not to fight in some mystical war."

Mordo and Wong exchanged another significant look, one that Stephen was certain he didn't like, but before anyone could speak any further, a faint gong suddenly sounded.

The masters' heads snapped up at once while Stephen looked around, bewildered. His confusion was soon cleared somewhat when Wong breathed, "London."

The door to the Sanctum that the master had pointed out just minutes earlier opened as Wong spoke, the sound of the alarm growing louder as it rang through the open doorway.

The trio turned in shock just in time to see a man in the same maroon and dark brown tunics that Stephen recognized as belonging to the sorcerers who acted as guards around the temple, coming running towards them from down a richly decorated hallway. The man was too late however, and a giant shard of what looked like glass imbedded into his back, killing him instantly just as the man fell through the doorway and into the Seeing Room.

Stephen's eyes widened at the quick death of the man right before him, the man's life snuffed out in a heartbeat, and his eyes flickered automatically to the man's killer.

A grey-haired man stood, dressed in a dirty, mustard-yellow robe that was faintly reminiscent of the yellow tunics Maya would wear beneath her purple robes. He had strange dark circles around his eyes that looked like paint that was badly applied as it dribbled down his cheeks and a familiar red marking on his forehead. A marking Stephen had seen moments earlier in the Book of Cagliostro. And Stephen knew who the sorcerer was - who he had to be.

"Kaecilius!" Wong gasped, confirming Stephen's fear, just as the man inside the the hallway gathered an immense ball of energy high above his head.

The doors to the Seeing Room burst open and Stephen's eyes flew to the side to see Maya returning at full speed, her amber eyes flashing and her jaw set tightly. But she was too late.

"No!" Mordo yelled just as Kaecilius let loose the spell he had gathered at inconceivable speed and there was a loud bang as the energy exploded into the room.

"STEPHEN!"

Stephen vaguely heard Maya scream his name as he was hit in the aftermath of whatever explosion Kaecilius had unleashed, unable to shield himself in time.

The blast itself was strangely muted, which he didn't understand in the small part of his brain that continued to somehow work while his body was thrown back. And then Stephen's back hit what felt like a wall and he tumbled through a doorway as it swung open under the impact his body hitting it.

The ceiling collapsed behind him, and Stephen cried out in alarm as he got up just in time to see the doorway sealing itself behind him, leaving him stranded he didn't know where while Maya, Mordo, and Wong were on the other side, where Kaecilius was.

"MAYA?!"


	8. Kaecilius

_Kamar-Taj_

Coughing, Maya quickly cleared the dust and debris with a wave of her hand. Mordo and Wong were leaping to their feet, having been knocked back like Stephen had been in the blast but much faster to recover as their years of training kicked in.

All the pathways to the Sanctums were blocked, Kaecilius's explosion having had the effect he wanted in bringing the ceiling of the Seeing Room down at the edges where the doorways had stood. Not that the blocked doorways really meant anything but the implication that Kaecilius had had enough control to affect how his blast would impact the explosion once it went through the gateway into Kamar-Taj was disturbing to say the least.

The part of Maya's brain that was still level worked through all of this information in one second; the larger part of her brain that was gripped with fear wanted her to depart immediately for the New York Sanctum, the doorway to which Stephen had tumbled through. However, decades of training checked her and Maya soon regained her head.

"Stephen-"

Mordo began worriedly as he looked toward the door but Maya said swiftly, "He will be safe as long as Daniel is there. But London needs us _now_."

Mordo nodded, immediately falling into professional mode as well. Maya looked at Wong.

"Fetch Ama." She ordered and Wong nodded before he almost disappeared he opened a gateway to the Ancient One's last known location so quickly. Mordo knew his own instructions without Maya needing to say it aloud - if Wong was the messenger, he would be part of the guard.

Without a word and with a synchronization that spoke of their many years of training together, he and Maya conjured up their own gateways and they entered the London Sanctum.

It was absolute chaos in the building. The Sanctum's few guards had fallen, overcome by their attackers' numbers even if they were matched in skil and Kaecilius's followers were already starting their retreat for reasons Maya couldn't explain. Nor did she have much time to think as Kaecilius's followers noticed her and Mordo's arrival right away.

There were five of them on the upper level where Maya and Mordo had appeared, and the fighting began almost as soon as they stepped foot into the Sanctum. Mordo had his Staff of the Living Tribunal out before they even landed and he cracked it at the nearest of Kaecilius's men. Maya meanwhile conjured up Eldritch war fans, similar to the Ancient One's own signature preferred Tao Mandalas, and she swiftly cut through her first opponent before he could raise a sufficient defense. He cried out as he fell and Maya felt a brief pang before it was swiftly snuffed out as another woman charged her. Maya caught the woman's arm swiftly, blocking the attack before she launched her own offense. The woman lasted a little longer but it wasn't long before she, too, fell with a cry as Maya's fans cut through the woman's neck.

The Zealots, as Maya had heard the group had named themselves over the last few months, were good but they had once been students at Kamar-Taj. Students under Kaecilius. And while they were good, they weren't as good as Kaecilius; and Maya had always been the stronger fighter between them.

That said, they were still good students and they not only had the advantage in numbers but also the power of the Dark Dimension behind them, as evidenced by the red butterfly-shaped markings embossed on their foreheads and the shattered pattern on the skins around their eyes. It gave them a brute strength she was unused to and Maya grit her teeth as she kicked and swung her war fans and ducked to avoid the Zealot's glass-like conjured shards that they apparently preferred to use as weapons. Probably because the mirror-like shards were drawn from the dimension they received their power from, Maya thought bitterly.

Still, her own strength and advanced training as a master kept her alive and soon Maya was working her way deeper into the Sanctum as she fought off her attackers. Mordo was making similar progress on the other side; but as the Zealots' were forced to the end of the corridor under her and Mordo's combined power, they suddenly turned and ran away.

Maya and Mordo gave quick chase, following the Zealots down the stairs and gaining on them; only to screech to a halt and dive for cover when Kaecilius, who had been standing in the middle of the entry hall, lowered the blast he had been accumulating while his Zealots had been holding Maya and Mordo off. Much more powerful than the blast he had released hastily earlier on before Maya's arrival, this attack blew right through the roof. Maya barely managed to block the ceiling from falling on her head as the entire Sanctum blew up around her.

She ran and crashed through the window before the building could collapse completely, and she used quick magic to throw herself far into the alleyway to avoid landing on the broken glass. She coughed as the dust flew up around her from where the building had caved in on itself, and she raised her head to see Kaecilius and his followers had escaped out the front door before it collapsed.

They were sprinting down the street, and Maya launched to her feet to chase after them. A flash of familiar green and black robes appeared not far away, between her and the escaping Zealots, and Maya yelled at Mordo, "Stop him!"

But even as Mordo chased Kaecilius down the street, Maya right behind them, more Zealots moved to block them. First Mordo and then Maya were forced to stop as they dodged blows and fought off their attackers, who seemed content knowing that the only end that they could meet now was death if it meant Kaecilius could continue on, unhindered, to complete their higher cause.

And that was what he did. Maya watched helplessly as Kaecilius swiftly conjured a gateway through which he disappeared with two other Zealots before she could break off the connection with a crack of her own Eldritch whip.

"NO!" Maya shouted, frustrated before she was forced to block yet another Zealot's kick.

Her anger made her a vicious opponent, and the Zealot fell far swifter than he would otherwise have under her Eldritch fan. But there were still eight left, and four on one was no easy task even for her and Mordo. As she fought, Maya could feel her emotions slipping and growing increasingly agitated. They didn't have time for this.

To her left, Mordo was growing equally frustrated and impatient. As he kicked away yet another Zealot, Mordo yelled, "Where could he have gone?"

Maya's jaw just tightened in response. With the London Sanctum fallen, there were only two places Kaecilius could have gone and her heart hammered as she prayed for either Kaecilius not to be in New York or for Stephen to have left the Sanctum and returned safely to Kamar-Taj when he had managed to regain his bearings. Agamotto had to have listened to at least one of her pleas... didn't he?

* * *

_117A Bleecker Street_

_New York Sanctum_

Stephen wasn't quite sure what to do.

After getting painfully to his feet, he'd stumbled out the front door of the building he'd found himself thrown into, only to find he was in New York City. For a brief moment, emotions choked him as he found himself back in the city he had called home before reality came crashing back down. Especially as he drew several strange looks from passersby who eyed his outfit, never mind his dusty and a little bloody appearance, questioningly.

Stumbling back inside, he shut the doors to what had to be the New York Sanctum Wong had spoken of earlier, and for a moment he stood facing the closed doors. The symbolism was not lost to him and Stephen felt the return of the longing and a little bit of anger that had not been a constant of his life since he befriended Maya.

Why had this happened to _him_? What had he ever done to deserve this fate? His old life just slammed shut in his face, all former friends and colleagues deserting him with their backs turned - well, almost all of them. And the only way back, the only glimmer of hope he'd had, was still such a far away dream that looked less and less like it was ever going to be reality.

Stephen gripped the door handles tightly with his shaking hands before he sighed. Exhaling deeply, he loosened his body and released the tension. This was getting him nowhere.

More to find something else to occupy his mind, Stephen turned back into the building and he wandered up the majestic staircase as he searched for some sign of life.

"Hello?" He called as he wandered about the various corridors of the upper level before he paused as something caught his attention at the far end of one hallway.

Slowly, Stephen approached what appeared to be three French windows at the end of the corridor. Except, they couldn't be windows of the actual building because each one showed a very different landscape; and none of them were New York City. Stephen warily approached windows as he looked from the thick, humid woods in the left window and to the snowy mountain range in the right before he stopped in front of the center window which showed him a stormy cliff right over a raging sea.

Tentatively, he opened the doors and he squinted a little as a fierce wind blew in his face, spraying a little bit of rain and sea water as the waves crashed into the rocks right in front of him. Stephen shut the windows, puzzled, before he noticed a round, glowing globe on the wall beside the window. Beside all the windows, he realized.

He reached over and spun the round knob, and his eyes widened as the sea disappeared from before him and the window instead opened up into the middle of a desert. He stared out at the sand dunes that stretched for as far as the eye could sea, untouched by humanity.

"Huh."

Abandoning the windows after a moment, he continued his path deeper and further up into the building, wondering where the master and guards could be.

"Hello?" Stephen called as he made his way into what appeared to be the attic. The roof was lower on this floor than the others and it seemed the main purpose of the room that expanded the length of the building was primarily used for storage. But it was no dusty and abandoned room like most attics were. Instead, it looked akin to a museum as glass displays stood proudly showing off their contents while trunks, vases, standing ornaments and antique tables that boasted more strange items were scattered about quite strategically to please the eye. The walls were also lined with more antiques: large plates in gold and silver, weapons like axes and spears that had clearly not been used as of late and a strange metal net.

Stephen wandered about before he paused near a standing-length glass display and he stared at the thick red cloak that floated inside. And when he said floated, he meant literally floated as the cape hung without any stand in the center of the case, the edges fluttering as it moved itself to watch him, turning to face him as he slowly rounded the case to come to a stop right before it.

Stephen turned away from the cloak after a moment and he followed a stream of natural light to the source, where he stopped once again as he saw a huge window shaped almost exactly like the eye of Agamotto he still wore.

A strange rumbling from behind made him turn and he frowned as he saw the ground shake slightly below the stairs as if there was a small earthquake. Following the steps down one floor, he traced his path back to the main staircase that led to the entrance hall. But at the sight that met him, Stephen hastily pulled back, curling in on himself as he hid behind the carved doorway and he carefully watched a tall man in dark robes standing in the center of the entrance hall.

The man stood with his back to Stephen, facing the doors of the Sanctum which were swirling and shifting as though their very reality was being broken down. The shifting was what had been causing the building to tremble and Stephen watched worriedly as the shifting grew stronger and stronger, bending away while the floors and surrounding walls also turned in on themselves like they had done for the Ancient One in the mirror dimension.

The master standing below slowly stepped back, keeping away from the bending reality but he never went too far nor did he take his eyes off the door just as the doors finally bent away and disappeared to reveal Kaecillius and several of his followers.

"Daniel," Kaecillius greeted as he stepped confidently into the building with his followers right behind him. "I see they made you master of this Sanctum."

The man Stephen now recognized from a brief introduction over the winter as Master Daniel Drumm answered in a deep and low voice, 'Do you know what that means?"

Kaecillius faced the man and his expression was almost regretful as he answered, "That you'll die protecting it."

The door behind him reappeared as he spoke and reality settled itself back into place now that he had broken through the protective barriers. None of the sorcerors below seemed to notice or care as the two sides, one rather outnumbered, stared each other down.

Kaecilius moved first, extending his hands and a shimmer in the light told Stephen he was holding some kind of glass-like shard. The two Zealots with him did the same, but Master Drumm appeared unfazed as he stared them down.

The Zealots moved first, the only woman in the group launching forward. Daniel reacted quickly, blocking her attack with his Relic, a stave of sorts, and Stephen was shocked to see that where the glass appeared to impact Daniel's stave, the air itself cracked with bursts of orange magic from the Relic… and an odd shatter like broken glass.

Daniel moved swiftly after that initial block, knocking down the woman before blocking an attack from the male. Before the Zealot had a chance to recover, Daniel had knocked him in the head with his stave, sending the man crumpling down. But the Zealots were strong, fueled by a powerful but dark magic, and Daniel barely had time to defend himself again from the female, sweeping her off her feet as he whacked her hard on the knees, when he was attacked by the male. He wasn't fast enough this time and Daniel growled through gritted teeth as he was cut deeply in the thigh when the Zealot got below his defenses, before he crumpled to his knee in pain.

Stephen realized what was going to happen a second before it did, and his body reacted instinctively.

"Stop!" Stephen yelled, leaping over the staircase railing at the same time Kaecilius stabbed Daniel right in the stomach.

Kaecilius looked up at Stephen's cry with such casual surprise it almost made Stephen shiver. He was also belatedly realizing just how bad of an idea leaping out had been as he found himself awkwardly staring down at the three Zealots from too far up the stairs to be of any help to the badly wounded Daniel… and for Daniel to be any help to him, if he could even get up.

Fear pumped adrenaline through his entire body as Stephen stood tensely stuck between fight or flight while Kaecilius pulled his shard out of Daniel's stomach and prowled around Daniel, watching Stephen with great interest.

"How long have you been at Kamar-Taj, Mr...?" Kaecilius trailed off pointedly and Stephen grimaced.

"Doctor." He corrected warily, eyes flickering between Kaecilius and Daniel. Daniel was panting as he lay on his hands and knees, barely able to raise his head enough to stare at Stephen in disbelief. _Run_, his eyes seemed to scream.

But Stephen couldn't, not when he hoped Kaecilius might be distracted enough to ignore Daniel until help came. Because help - and Maya - would come… right?

"Mr. Doctor?" Kaecilius's skeptical repetition drew the former doctor's attention again. Stephen pulled a slight face.

"It's Strange." Stephen corrected again, his fear warring with brief annoyance. Kaecilius paused.

"Maybe." He said thoughtfully before he shrugged casually. "Who am I to judge?"

And then before Stephen could do or say anything, Kaecilius plunged his strange weapon right into Daniel's chest, stabbing him in the heart and killing him instantly but painfully.

Stephen's body reacted automatically as he saw the Zealots begin to move as soon as Kaecilius had. Toward him. Stephen quickly drew on his training, creating an Eldritch whip just as the Zealots ran _across_ up the side of the curved building and up to him. His eyes darted from side to side as he watched the two Zealots coming at him from either side while Kaecilius strolled forward toward the steps at a more leisurely pace.

Realizing who was coming first, Stephen whirled to block the attack from the female as the blonde woman launched at him. He wasn't fast enough and the woman kicked him right in the chest, sending him stumbling back. But Stephen's mind, running at twice it's normal speed as adrenaline shot through his entire body, saw the other Zealot coming from the corner of his eye and he knew what was coming.

He allowed a kick to fall through his defense, knowing he wasn't strong enough to beat the Zealots if he engaged physically for too long, but he used the momentum to his advantage as he turned and swung his fist right into the female's face. She went tumbling back in pain while Stephen whipped around to block the other Zealot's attack, stopping the strange shard with his Eldritch whip before whacking it at the man and making him stumble momentarily.

Sensing movement from behind, Stephen leapt back behind the railings he'd jumped over earlier, dodging the woman as she stabbed at where Stephen had been a second prior. Spotting a vase in the corner, Stephen grabbed it with his whip and sent it smashing into the male Zealot's head.

But Kaecilius had made it closer by then and, realizing Stephen was stronger than he'd expected, the sorcerer threw his shard at Stephen like a javelin. Stephen blocked it with his whip, although he was surprised by the brute force of the attack when the shard bounced off his whip. Realizing he had a brief and possibly only window of opportunity, he beat a hasty retreat and fled into the corridor he'd come from.

If he could get to the windows, the ones that led out to the forest or the desert, surely he could escape and find a moment to get back to Kamar-Taj.

Unfortunately, fate (or Kaecilius) it seemed had other plans… and Stephen was dismayed when the corridor seemed to lengthen, taking the windows further away from him. He glanced back as he ran to see Kaecilius and his Zealots standing at the end of the corridor where the older man raised his hands as he shifted the reality of the room. Turning forward, Stephen tried desperately to keep running… but he wasn't moving. He realized why a second later as he looked down and saw the floor shifting continuously like a moving walkway, keeping him in place.

With nowhere left to go, Stephen stopped running and turned back to face Kaecilius and his Zealots, quicking drawing on the Mystic Arts to summon Eldritch Tao Mandalas. The circular weapons appeared around his hands as he willed and Stephen leant back on one leg as he held his fisted hands, shielded by the weapons, apart in the classic defensive stance Maya had made him repeat more times than he could count.

He was ready… and then the Tao Mandala on his right hand flickered before it disappeared.


	9. Lessons Learnt

_New York_

_Stephen was ready… and then the Tao Mandala on his right hand flickered before it disappeared._

Stephen stared at his hand in dismay. Maybe Maya had been a tiny bit correct in saying he wasn't exactly ready… Stephen shook his hand, trying to bring the weapon back as the Zealots strode with deadly purpose toward him. The air around his fist flickered, sparked slightly... and then nothing.

And he was out of time. Stephen looked up in alarm as the first of the Zealots came at him while Kaecilius leapt up and spun so that he was somehow walking on the ceiling. Stephen lost sight of the man for the moment after that as he focused on the Zealots intent on killing him as they charged at him, leaping from the ground to the walls. He blocked the woman's attack, his Tao Mandala shattering from the impact of her glass-like weapon against his energy although he succeeded in throwing her back behind him.

Stephen was not as successful against the male who grabbed him by his lapels and threw him bodily against the wall. Stephen grunted as he fell down before looking up just in time to create a Tao Mandala in front of him as a shield. The spell sparked as the male Zealot's glass weapon smashed against it and Stephen was thrown back again from the sheer force of the blow.

Stephen landed with a grunt yet again before he scrambled to his feet as the Zealots charged him again. Drawing on himself, Stephen created the Eldritch whips Maya had taught him and he whipped it into the woman's face, sending her flying backward… just as the entire room began to turn on itself. Stephen looked up at Kaecilius in alarm before looking down at his feet as he felt the floor tilt right beneath him. Stephen only had time to gulp before he was sent tumbling into the wall on his right that was now the floor as what had been the floor beneath his feet turned ninety degrees.

Stephen cried out as his face smashed right into the window, breaking it he hit it so hard, before he yelped as the walls spun counterclockwise this time and he ended up on his back on the floor that was now the floor again. Stephen barely had the time to get his bearings before Kaecilius was spinning his section of the room again and Stephen lost complete track of what was the floor as he was sent tumbling over and over while the walls around him kept turning and throwing him onto whatever became the new floor before it became a wall or a roof.

The spinning finally stopped and Stephen landed on his side on the ground. Glancing back, he saw Kaecilius starting to draw his hands together once again; sensing it didn't mean anything good for him, Stephen scrambled to his feet and attempted to run… only the corridor seemed to be stretching away from him indefinitely. And the floor was tilting up…

Stephen realized what was happening as the fallen books and tables and vases around him (or what remained of them after the spinning and crashing they'd gone through) began to slide along the floor and down toward Kaecilius and his men. Stephen tried to push himself against the pull but the floor had risen to past forty-five degrees by that point. He flung himself to the side, grasping the handles of a window just in time as the floor tilted a complete ninety degrees and left Stephen dangling completely horizontally. Unfortunately, the window frame was cracked from all the earlier smashing and it creaked under his weight before it snapped off completely.

Stephen barely managed to grab onto the light fixture attached to the wall near the ceiling as the broken window frame went flying back down the hall. Stephen glanced back to see the female Zealot avoiding the window frame, allowing it to fall behind her where it smashed through the french windows at the end of the hallway.

A plan - crazy, insane, brilliant - formed in his mind and Stephen made the split-second decision. Letting go of the lamp fixture, Stephen yelled as he dropped down the hallway. Kaecilius and the male Zealot were close enough to the sides to avoid him but the female was not as lucky as Stephen aimed his feet right into her stomach. Together, they were thrown down and the woman went flying out through the broken french windows and into the middle of a random desert where she toppled down a sand dune.

Stephen managed to cling onto the edges of the desert, saving himself from falling out with the woman. The hallway tilted back to normal immediately as Kaecilius realigned the french windows with the desert so his Zealot could return through when she made it back from across the desert. It also meant Stephen was able to get back inside as he pulled himself upright and Stephen hastily reached for the knob near the window that would change it from the desert scenery.

His hand was kicked aside as the male Zealot launched at Stephen, and the two exchanged quick blows and dodges as the Zealot attempted to keep Stephen from the knob while Stephen tried to reach it. Stephen was the weaker brawler but he was close enough to the knob… it was _right_ there…

And as the Zealot attempted to twist Stephen's arm, he was able to turn about completely, pushing off the other man and Stephen's hand touched the spinning knob.

The french window switched from the desert to the thunderstorm rainforest as the male Zealot attempted to strangle Stephen; remembering what Maya had spent several months recently teaching him, Stephen reared back before he pitched his entire weight forward. The Zealot lost his balance and Stephen flipped him bodily over his back and sent the Zealot flying into the rainforest.

The Zealot disappeared into the trees with a cry and Stephen hastily spun the dial on the windows to the Grand Canyon… just as Kaecilius, realizing Stephen was stronger than he had thought, came storming over. Stephen ducked, avoiding Kaecilius's swings as the man attempted to slice him in half and he ran for it.

Escaping down a side corridor where he had noticed a secret door earlier, Stephen scrambled away from Kaecilius, pulling down bookcases or hauling across tables into the path behind him in an attempt to slow down the other man who simply started to run across the wall, perpendicular to the ground, as he continued to chase Stephen.

Stephen raced up the steps back into the attic room he had toured earlier, hastily creating an Eldritch whip as he went. It was a good thing he did as Kaecilius ran up the walls of the stairs to launch right into Stephen's path when he tried to run around and Stephen lifted his whip as a shield against Kaecilius's glass weapon.

Kaecilius retaliated by simply kicking Stephen in the stomach and Stephan grunted as he bumped into a table with a goblet that shone with a light inside it. Grabbing the goblet, Stephen held it threateningly against Kaecilius, who paused as he glanced from the goblet to Stephen and back.

"You don't know how to use that, do you?" Kaecilius guessed and Stephen glanced at the goblet he'd thought was… a goblet.

"Uh..."

With nothing to lose, Stephen lifted the goblet and whacked it down at Kaecilius. The older man blocked the attack quickly with his own weapon, slicing the metal in half and Stephen was forced to defend himself as Kaecilius retaliated with a swing back at him. His Eldritch whip held as he blocked Kaecilius's swings at him, when Kaecilius kicked him hard right through the glass case of the floating red cape Stephen had seen before.

Dazed, Stephen had no time to react as Kaecilius lunged at him and swung his glass shard right at Stephen… only to be blocked by the cape. Stephen looked back at the floating cape in shock before he tried to scurry away, only for Kaecilius to grab him by the head and haul him back. The man swung at Stephen again… and he was blocked once more by the cape.

Incensed, Kaecilius kneed Stephen in the chest before throwing him bodily across the floor where Stephen skid across the broken glass. He hurriedly blocked Kaecilius's attempt to stab him, using both his hands to keep the weapon at bay but unaware he had been backed against the stairs. Kaecilius noticed; and unable to break Stephen's hold, he simply kicked Stephen in the side, making him lose his balance slightly. Using the moment of weakness, Kaecilius leapt up to kick Stephen hard in the chest, throwing him bodily back and Stephen toppled over the stair railings and over the edge just as something red streaked toward him.

* * *

_London _

Maya spun and kicked the last Zealot on the back, sending the other woman crashing into the cement where she ended the woman's life with a quick but efficient slice of her Eldritch fans. Nearby, Mordo was straightening up after defeating the last of his foes as well, the two Masters unscathed although quite breathless.

But it didn't matter - London was lost.

As the thought went through her head, a golden circle appeared in the air and Maya looked over in relief as the Ancient One and Wong stepped through. The Ancient One's expression was as neutral as always but her blue eyes were fiery as she took in the dead bodies strewn around the street and then the dusty remains of the London Sanctum.

Her eyes then returned to her adopted daughter as Maya strode up, explaining curtly, "We couldn't stop him; now we must follow Kaecilius."

"He could be anywhere." Mordo protested as he joined the others, before he paused as his words caught up to him and realization dawned. "He has his eyes set on the Sanctums."

"Why else would he make such a public attack on London?" Maya asked rhetorically before she looked at the Ancient One. "He has to be trying to draw us out."

"You mean me." The Ancient One observed.

Maya didn't lower her gaze as she simply stared back at her mother grimly. The Ancient One nodded curtly.

"Master Wong, you and I will go to Hong Kong." She ordered. "I would think that is where he would go next; New York is the more difficult one to successfully take even by surprise. However, we take no chances - Maya, Master Mordo, check New York. If either side finds nothing, regroup at the other Sanctum."

"No," Maya shook her head sharply. "I will go to Hong Kong. Strange ended up in New York and I do not have the confidence to see him - especially if Kaecilius did end up there and turned Strange to his side."

"Are you questioning your order, Master Garthe?"

Mordo and Wong tensed as they watched Maya face off against the Ancient One, neither side giving an inch. The air around them seem to get colder too as though they were physically radiating the coldness in their gazes as Maya stared at the Ancient One defiantly.

"I am suggesting an amendment."

"Then your suggestion is denied." The Ancient One's voice never rose nor did it change from her usual, cool tone. "You will go to New York."

"Ama!" Maya was not as cool-headed and her rising temper was clear in her sharp tone.

"Do you have so little faith in her student?" The Ancient One cut in.

Maya snapped back, "Look where my faith landed my last student! See the destruction he has caused around us! So of course I won't trust Strange, he is too similar-"

"You came to believe in him - I know you did." The Ancient One responded.

"I did not-" Maya began defensively but the Ancient One cut her off sternly.

"You are blinded by your fear, child. You were deeply affected by Kaecilius's betrayal, not just to Kamar-Taj and to my teachings but also to you, to the affections you held for him. You have always seen in him the father figure you never had, I know you did. Do not for a minute think you once fooled me with the lies you told yourself to ease the pain. And what has come of it? You have become bitter to not just him but to the world ever since - Mordo and I have seen this, as have the other Masters. But we let it be, hoping that time would heal you as it has healed so many others. But I will not stand and let you ruin an innocent man because of your own fears."

Maya stood muted. Her anger was still there but much dimmed by her adoptive mother's admonishment and the shame in knowing her mother was right.

The Ancient One then softened her harsh tone as she continued gently, "Stephen is not like Kaecilius. You know this. You guarded yourself against it but even you cannot deny that in your heart, you know that Stephen is the good man that Kaecilius, as much as we had hoped otherwise, never could be."

Maya hung her head, biting her lip uncertainly, but the Ancient One placed a finger under her daughter's chin and brought her face back up so they could meet eyes.

"Trust your heart, my child. You have been burnt once but all wounds heal with time. Let your heart learn from the pain, let the scar be a reminder that not all things in the world are kind but do not let that shut out what _is_ good."

With that she released Maya and turned to the others, her expression grim.

"Now, we have lost much time - we must hurry."

"Yes, Ancient One." The two men responded instantly and Mordo glanced at Maya. The Ancient One also looked at May expectantly and the younger woman sighed in reluctant (for now) agreement.

"Yes, Ancient One."

* * *

Stephen stood, out of breath and feeling extremely sore, while before him Kaecilius knelt, unable to move as he was held captive by a metal chain that had imprisoned him quite effectively. Truth be told, it hadn't been Stephen's idea to use the chain mail - it had been the cloak, which had also saved him from the fall off the stairs, that had dragged Stephen to the metal net on display and all but ordered him to use it.

Stephen didn't have the time to attempt to thank the cloak, however, as Kaecilius began mumbling around the metal mouthguard.

"What?" Stephen asked, groaning as he straightened up. Of course, Kaecilius couldn't answer clearly and the man kept mumbling so Stephen pulled off the muzzle tiredly… only to realize Kaecilius was speaking ancient mystic arts. Or, to Stephen, just straight gibberish.

"Oh, stop it." Stephen groaned, and when Kaecilius continued to chant he repeated more loudly and more insistently, "I said, stop it!"

"You cannot stop this, Mr. Doctor." Kaecilius answered quite calmly for a man who was rendered completely immobile.

"Why… look," Stephen sighed tiredly. "I don't even know what 'this' is."

"It's the end and the beginning." Kaecilius replied as though it were obvious. "The many becoming the few, becoming the One."

Stephen just gave the other man a dirty look and he threatened, "Look, if you're not going to start making sense, I'm just going to have to put this thing back on."

He lifted the muzzle back toward Kaecilius, who ignored the threat as he began, "Tell me, Mr. Doctor-"

"Alright, look." Stephen snapped, annoyed that the man kept getting it wrong whether unintentionally or not. "My name is Dr. Stephen Strange."

"You _are_ a doctor?" Kaecilius asked, genuinely surprised.

"Yes." Stephen snapped and a knowing look entered Kaecilius's dark eyes.

"A scientist." Kaecilius prompted, watching Stephen intently. "You understand the laws of nature. All things age. All things die. In the end, our sun burns out, our universe grows cold and perishes. But the Dark Dimension, it's a place beyond time."

Stephen had lost the will to keep listening by then and he lifted the muzzle again as he said resolutely, "That's it. I'm putting this thing back on."

"This world doesn't have to die, doctor." Kaecilius said sharply, making Stephen pause. "This world can take its rightful place among so many others, as part of the One. The great and beautiful One. And we can all live forever."

"Really?" Stephen asked, feigning more interest than he really felt as he placed the muzzle down on a nearby statue (he really hoped he wasn't being unforgivably sacrilegious in doing so). "What do you have to gain out of this New Age dimensional utopia?"

"The same as you." Kaecilius answered resolutely. "The same as everyone. Life. Eternal life. People think in terms of good and evil, but really, Time is the true enemy of us all. Time kills everything."

"What about the people you killed?" Stephen countered.

Kaecilius replied without missing a beat and without a shred of remorse.

"Tiny, momentary specks within an indifferent universe."

Stephen stiffened at that. It was what he had said, his _exact_ words, the first day he had arrived at Kamar-Taj. Suddenly, he could see exactly why Maya had feared he would become like Kaecilius; never had he really understood the connection she seemed to have made from his first day at the temple between him and a murderer and betrayer.

But now, now Stephen realized _this_ was what she had seen. Maya had seen in him a man beaten down by life but retaining an arrogant and indifferent attitude to the lives of the people he had promised to save when he became a doctor, and in that darker side of him she had seen the man who had thrown her away.

Kaecilius seemed to see some realization, some connection, in Stephen's eyes and he breathed, "Yes. You see, you see what we're doing?"

Stephen lowered his gaze, avoiding Kaecilius's eyes as the man continued.

"The world is not what it ought to be. Humanity longs for the eternal, for a world beyond Time, because Time is what enslaves us. Time is an insult. Death is an insult. Doctor… We don't seek to rule this world. We seek to save it, to hand it over to Dormammu, who is the intent of all evolution, the 'Why' of all existence."

"The Sorcerer Supreme defends existence." Stephen muttered defensively. But even he heard his hesitance, the lack of conviction.

Kaecilius picked up on that at once and he questioned, "What was it that brought you to Kamar-Taj, doctor? Was it enlightenment? Power?"

Stephen's mangled hands clenched slightly at his side, even now unable to stop their tremors; Kaecilius noticed and he seemed satisfied.

"You came to be healed, as did we all." Kaecilius said with conviction. "Kamar-Taj is a place that collects broken things. We all come with the promise of being healed, but instead, the Ancient One gives us parlor tricks. Not even her so-called daughter is taught more. The real magic the Ancient One keeps for herself. Have you ever wondered how she managed to live this long?

"I…" Stephen hesitated. "I saw the rituals in the book of Cagliostro."

Kaecilius nodded.

"So, you know." He said persuasively. "The ritual gives me the power to overthrow the Ancient One and tear her Sanctums down. To let the Dark Dimension in. Because what the Ancient One hoards, Dormammu gives freely. Life, everlasting. He is not the destroyer of worlds, doctor, he is the savior of worlds."

"No."

Stephen shook his head. He didn't know why he hadn't stopped the man earlier; perhaps because he had been waiting for the proof of the suspicions he himself held of the Ancient One? Perhaps because there was a tiny part of him that had been fascinated by this man's psyche? But at the man's words, at his declaration that he would bring down the Ancient One and tear the Sanctums she _and her masters_ protected so firmly… it brought him back to reality.

This was wrong. Even if he didn't completely agree with or trust the Ancient One now, he knew that _this_ was wrong. For the first time, he could truly appreciate the lessons Maya had worked to instill in him as he looked at Kaecilius's haunted and disturbing face.

"I mean, come on. Look at your face." Stephen said, gesturing at the man's face.

And the man's desecrated face was just the tip of the iceberg. He thought of what Wong had told him before Kaecilius's attack. The mystical war that Maya had been undoubtedly fighting since she was a young woman and maybe even younger. The war he had never been aware of as he lived an opulent life as a celebrated neurosurgeon, the war that was the reason he had been told to slow down in his quest for knowledge because Maya and his masters had not wished for him to become a casualty. The war against which the Sanctums stood to protect. Sanctums that Maya, whose trust he had broken by unwittingly attempting the very spells Kaecilius had murdered for, would undoubtedly protect with her life if it came down to it.

"You've let yourself become a murderer and you betrayed the people who placed their trust in you." Stephen continued. "The woman who took you in; the people you trained with; Maya-"

"You think I would have betrayed Maya if I didn't think it was more than worth the cost?" Kaecilius replied although he was now eyeing Stephen rather shrewdly. "You know nothing, doctor, but that which they have told you. Maya was but a seventeen year old girl when we met. And yet she was already so powerful. I admired her, loved her even-"

Stephen's hand clenched into a fist again, something which did not escape Kaecilius's notice.

"How could I not? She was a sweet girl, kind, always laughing even when she sparred with me. Despite being a young master, she was... exceptional. And she wanted me to be so as well."

Here his gaze grew a little more shrewd.

"Did they ever tell you she helped sneak me out even after hours to learn faster, that she looked the other way when I practiced spells that were far more advanced than my lessons?"

Stephen stared at Kaecilius silently and his silence was enough.

"She was like my daughter, the daughter I _lost_. But in the end _she_ betrayed me. Don't let her fool you, doctor. Maya may seem to care a great deal about you but she will always be loyal first and foremost to the Ancient One."

Kaecilius's expression contorted with pain that Stephen almost believed. Almost.

"Like her name, Maya's affections are mere illusions that slip through your fingers like water. She has only love for the Ancient One. And no matter how selfish and cruel the Ancient One is, Maya will never stand up to her. She will always side with the Ancient One. You and I, doctor, we are but passing flights of fancies - it is to the Ancient One and the Ancient One alone that Maya's heart will truly belong and damned be the rest of us."

Stephen shook his head again.

"You're wrong."

"Am I?" Kaecilius challenged, raising a brow but Stephen knew the truth.

Maya wasn't usually the most expressive woman but now he realized it was because of _this_ man. Yes, she seemed to follow the Ancient One so blindly that Stephen often wanted to shake her but it didn't mean she cared any less for them. She had shown on numerous occasions (often reluctantly) that she cared about his well-being; had watched over him so he wouldn't let his curiosity and ego throw him into danger he wasn't ready to face; had worked many hours with him to prepare him for a war but would never force him to become a part of. Most importantly she was honest. It was the reason she shut down questions because she refused to lie or even pretend to not lie.

So if she banned the magic Kaecilius spoke of (that he now wielded), it was because she truly believed that it was destructive. As Kaecilius was only proving too well. And Stephen knew she fought the evil Kaecilius bowed to because she truly believed there was still good that existed in the imperfect world, the imperfect universe; and not because the Ancient One had simply decreed it so. And if she was willing to give her life for them, his Maya who he now understood far better than he ever had as all the pieces fell into place in his mind, then Stephen knew that the decision he was about to make was the absolutely right one.

"Dormammu made you a monster." Stephen said grimly. "Just how good can his kingdom be?"

Kaecilius's lips curved up and he gave a small chuckle. Stephen's eyes narrowed.

"You think that's funny?" He demanded.

But the amusement didn't leave Kaecilius's face as he answered in a light tone, "No. No, doctor. What's funny is that you've lost your sling ring."

Stephen's eyes widened and his eyes flew down to his empty pocket. He turned, eyes automatically and anxiously searching for his sling ring... and a shard of magical glass flew through the air and stabbed him right in the chest.


End file.
